Archive for the 'Marketing and sales' Category

The Referral Economy…

Published
by
Mike
on August 17, 2005
in Connection Economy and Marketing and sales
. 0 Comments

Referral…is Time Europe’s phrase-of-choice when describing word-of-mouth networks and tagging in this article entitled Taming the Wild Web, published on the 14th August.

A great quote from the article states, “…companies are banking on the notion that, in the aggregate, these (personal content) pages represent a gold mine of credible consumer information. “Whether you are referring someone to either a great restaurant or a local hairstylist, since the lead came from a trusted source, there’s a good chance that the person will be much more qualified to react not just to the content on the page, but also to the advertising”.

The social network that supports this blog (and is supported by the blog), got a taste of this magic in action when Barrie posted about his hair problem the other day…

Book Review on Cause Related Marketing - Who Cares Wins by Sue Adkins

Published
by
Lynda
on August 16, 2005
in Book Reviews, Leadership, Marketing and sales and Trends - Future Trends
. 4 Comments

Book coverI attended a breakfast this morning where Sue Adkins an international expert on Cause Related Marketing did a presentation .
See more about her book at Kalahari.net or Amazon.com ISBN 0 7506 4481 8

What struck me was how technology is changing the global consumer . We are now able to view and be made aware of bad behaviour by corporates far away from their consumer base through the internet, television, blog sites, cellphone cameras etc. The statement that who you are will be much more important that what you sell is being defined through a new set of rules that cannot be controlled by governments or the mighty corporates of the past.

This is a great read for anyone interested in making a difference in the 21st century enviroment.

Advertising on/in/by Games

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on July 9, 2005
in Gamers and Game Theory, Generations, Marketing and sales, Ripping and burning - Digital entertainment and Trends - Future Trends
. 1 Comment

Grand Prix screenshotAs young people spend less time watching television and more time online and playing games, advertisers have devised a new way to reach them. So says a report in the Economist (11 June 2005 - see here - premium content). “In the 1930s, the sponsorship of radio serials by makers of household cleaning products led to the soap opera. Listeners were enthralled by episodic, melodramatic storylines, and advertisers were guaranteed a big audience. Today, the same thing is happening with another new medium. Video games have been crossed with advertising to produce a new genre: the adver game.”

Research is showing that gamers seem to have a very positive view of ingame advertising. this is particularly true in sports games, where advertising mimics real world stadiums and gives a more lifelike feel. For now many of these, the ads are currently built in, but in future they might be piped in via the Internet and games consoles.

An early example of the advergame is “America’s Army”, first released by the US military as a recruitment tool in 2002. It is a free downloadable and strikingly realistic war game, covering basic training, tactical planning and a variety of missions and now has over 5 million registered players. The United Nations has “Food Force” which was released by the World Food Program, intending to raise awareness for global hunger with players acting as emergency aid workers. There are also many browser based games on the Internet, and these are becoming more and more popular.

Who’s advertising on Nickelodeon?

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on July 7, 2005
in Connection Economy, Generations and Marketing and sales
. 0 Comments

Kids will try anythingNickolodean logoWho’s trying to connect directly with children? To be honest, its anyone who understands generational theory.

General Motors made a deal with Nickelodeon earlier this year to promote its Chevrolet Uplander on the kids network (Mediaweek, May 9, 2005 - premium content). Other unexpected Nickelodeon advertisers have included The Bahamas, Embassy Suites and Microsoft.

It was the Yankelovich Report that first popularised the term “generation gap” nearly 40 years ago. Now, the Yankelovich’s Youth Monitor Study 2005 suggests that Millennial kids are closing the gap between children and parents faster than ever before. The key reason: conversations. Interactions between kids and their parents seems to be less confrontational now, than in previous years. Shared interests between parents and kids helps too. Some of the most often cited shared interests include movies like The Incredibles, Madagascar and Shrek.

Maybe this is one of the early benefits of the “connection economy” - the emerging era in which emotional intelligence, conversations, networks and connections are key competitive differentiators.

Continue reading ‘Who’s advertising on Nickelodeon?’

Talking to customers the AVIS way

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on June 25, 2005
in Marketing and sales and The Quick and the Dead - case studies
. 3 Comments

AvisIn a world where relationships are king, where connection is critical, how is it that AVIS gets to send letters of demand to their clients like the one below. I’m just a little irritated because I think the tone is one in which I’m written to as a stranger who is being warned to pay or be pursued. Maybe I’m being a little sensitive? But I’d find it difficult to write a letter like this to one of our clients, especially this being the first piece of correspondence on an issue that may be really simple to resolve.

HISTORY
~~~~~~~
* I’m a client of AVIS
* This happened in March
* It was my fault and I’ve paid (sent the cheque)

Continue reading ‘Talking to customers the AVIS way’

Another reason to question advertising awards

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on June 23, 2005
in Marketing and sales, Media tidbits, Ripping and burning - Digital entertainment and The Quick and the Dead - case studies
. 2 Comments

My good friends who work at Ad agencies will disagree, I am sure, but there are always question marks about the nature of Advertising Award Ceremonies. Right now, the ad world’s attention is focussed on Cannes 2005, where global entries are competing for attention. I spent the whole of the last night tracking down and downloading the top rated entrants, and most of them are excellent ads.

The concern has to do with the correlation (or lack thereof) between the winning of advertising awards and the effectiveness of the advertising for the customer. Let’s be clear: advertising is a product/service that has a specific purpose - to sell more of the client’s products and services. That is the ultimate decider of whether an adevrt is “good” or not. Does it motivate people to spend money on the product? Of course, some adverts are subtle, and about awareness raising. Others are more PR than sales-focused. But, although simply stated, my point is valid.

TBWA logoThe big news at Cannes 2005 right now is the forced withdrawal of two spectacular Sony Playstation 2 adverts: “Duel” and “War”. Barrie blogged about them earlier this week (here). But there is controversy. They were produced by TBWA South Africa for the North American office, and their client, Sony Playstation. But TBWA South Africa reports to TBWA London within TBWA’s global network, and apparently didn’t get permission to do work for America. So, TBWA Global has withdrawn the adverts from Cannes and all other international competitions. Who knows what politics is going on behind the scenes at TBWA, but it certainly doesn’t feel like they have their client’s best interests at heart in the process.

I copy the full press release from SA’s Marketing Web below. But one line stands out for me: “its in the network’s best interests to first consider what is in the client’s best interests”. At this early stage, it looks as if TBWA has dropped this ball… (TBWA has no comment yet on their website - which, amusingly, trumpets their status as “global network agency of the year”).

Continue reading ‘Another reason to question advertising awards’

The Experience Economy

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on June 10, 2005
in Connection Economy and Marketing and sales
. 1 Comment

We, at TomorrowToday.biz like to call it “The Connection Economy”. Others refer to it as the experience economy or the relationship economy or the dream society. Read a great blog about our move to experiences at Creating Passionate Users.

It starts like this: “In the 20th century, we transitioned from an industrial economy to an information economy. Now, in the early part of the 21st century, we are transitioning again - this time into an experience economy. Experience is driven by information, but pure information is no longer good enough - now we need something interesting to happen with all that information.”

In a world where you and your competitors are selling the same stuff to the same people at the same price, distributing through the same channels and advertising in the same media, and even swapping staff every few years, why should anyone buy from you? Why should anyone work for you? Less and less, its about WHAT you sell, and more and more its about WHO you are and HOW you sell. The latter of these is the “experience” economy. But the combination is the “connection” you create. Its you and me. And its its as much about “and” as it is about “you” and “me”. This applies to every company in every industry around the world.

Spoof adverts are adverts too

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on June 8, 2005
in Marketing and sales, Media tidbits and The Quick and the Dead - case studies
. 4 Comments

The point of an advert is to call attention to your brand/product, and inspire potential customers to part with some of their cash - in your favour. Many advertising campaigns around the world are spoofed - meaning that third parties take the brand campaign concept and use it to poke fun at the brand itself. Some of these spoofs develop a life of their own. Budweiser’s legendary “wazzup” campaign produced more spoofs than actual adverts. A little known fact, though, is that Budweiser actually funded some of the spoofsters, helping them to create a legend.

Ikea have done something similar with their “Elite Designers Against IKEA“.

ABSA spoofBut, now, in South Africa, we have some real fun. ABSA, the biggest retail banker in the country, has a new (fairly pretentious) campaign, in which breathy individuals exclaim that ABSA is “my rock”, “my hope”, “my future”, “my open road”. Well, a new series of spoof ads doing the rounds takes pot shots at ABSA, with pay off lines like: ABSA is “my elbow”, “my erectile dysfunction”, “my gay brother”, “my ringworm”, and the pay off line is: “My bank is… stoopid”.

Should ABSA respond? Methinks not. When Laugh It Off (a t-shirt manufacturer with spoof lines) took a potshot at FNB (another retail banker), the bank smiled and ordered a whole pile for their staff casual days. Other companies targetted by Laugh It Off didn’t (laugh it off, I mean) and took them to court. Laugh It Off hung tough, and in the Constitutional Court were recently awarded their right to freedom of expression.

For more on this story from Marketing Web guru, Kim Penstone, click here.

Connecting with your Bright Young customers

Published
by
Jean
on May 26, 2005
in Articles, Marketing and sales and Talent - Bright Young Things
. 0 Comments

We live in a world where the individual has more power than ever before. The traditional super-power is not in control anymore. The power has shifted to an unmanageable network of individuals and the ones that can ride this rollercoaster-network are the powerful ones. Meet the Bright Young Things! Some of them are working for you today; some of them have worked for you in the past; perhaps you are one of them yourself. They are buying from you and their networks are buying from you and they have the power to influence others to buy from you, or not…

One email to a strong network can have a tremendous effect: “I came across this car-rental company in Cape Town. Their cars are not really any different in quality or price from other companies, but they are the funkiest bunch of people! The company was started by a guy…” And there follows a story that inspired one BYT so much that he is giving free marketing to hundreds of people who trust his opinion 200% more than they trust any advertising campaign. Of course the email could also read like this: “If you really want to buy from these guys again, don’t read further because after you’ve read this you will never want to come close to that place again…” The power of connecting to the Bright Young Things.

Continue reading ‘Connecting with your Bright Young customers’

The Women’s Market

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on May 24, 2005
in Gender issues and Marketing and sales
. 0 Comments

At TomorrowToday.biz, we’re convinced that the 21st century will be dominated by women - in leadership, organisational structure, marketing, etc. Read our ‘manifesto’ on the issue.

Tom Peters interviewed the authors of Don’t Think Pink (buy it online at Amazon.com or Kalahari.net) - read that here. Also read their blog, Learned on Women.

Other people who like this book include: Jack Covert, founder of 800-CEO-READ.

Read a review of it here.

Crazy Russian Gen X marketing

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on May 9, 2005
in Connection Economy, Global View and Marketing and sales
. 0 Comments

Here’s one for the books…

Its always great to see Gen Xers doing well. In every country around the world, young people born in the 1970s and 80s are making their mark, most often in the IT and Telecomms industries. Countries with large populations moving towards middle class provide the most opportunity for tech-savvy, young entrepreneurs with nothing to lose:: Russia, India, China, Indonesia, Brazil, the Philippines, Nigeria, South Africa - these developing nations are breeding grounds for some of the big trends of the future, and developed nations would do well to watch them closer than they do.

Of, course, the mere mention of China’s manufacturing might makes grown men cry. And India’s surge into call centers and outsourcing of white collar jobs has been nothing short of extraordinary. So, the warnings are there.

But, on a lighter note, so too are some interesting new approaches to getting customers interested in what you have to sell.

Continue reading ‘Crazy Russian Gen X marketing’

Another form of Network Marketing - will it work?

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on May 5, 2005
in Generations, Marketing and sales and Talent - Bright Young Things
. 0 Comments

On Marketing Web this week, there was an article (click here for article)posted about companies paying people to be brand-ambassadors, wondering the aisles and petrol stations, cleverly convincing us in a ‘not-the-usual-suspects’ way to consider changing brands, or trying something new. A very interesting read.

It’s another form of ‘network marketing’. However this is an industry that already struglles to get the 20’s and 30’s set to buy into their business model. How will ad agencies be any different? It’s not that the model isn’t a good one, it seemingly clashed with the value system that this group has, namely that they struggle to ‘exploit relationships for money.’

Point is that if ad agencies are ignoring this, their clients will feel the brunt. People wont sit back and watch brands ‘trick’ them. We’re way too smart for that.

Advertising (to kids) just gets harder and harder

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on May 4, 2005
in Generation Y, Marketing and sales and Talent - Bright Young Things
. 0 Comments

On June 28, 2004, Fortune magazine reported on a school in the USA where fourth graders were being trained in media awareness - basically being “ad proofed”. (Read the story here - you need a subscription to Fortune).

These children were given class assignments to investigate the advertising and nutritional value of their favourite foods. It was about learning how to filter advertising messages and learning a great real-life skill — something many of their parents haven’t learnt yet. Most of the children were shocked to discover that the companies in their surveys did not have their best interests at heart. After realising that many of their favourite foods were particularly unhealthy, and connecting this was the child directed advertising of these companies, the teacher encouraged the children to write to the companies and express their concern.

From an educational perspective, this was pure genius. Not only had the teacher engaged the children’s full attention, she had also been able to teach them concept from a range of subjects including media studies, life skills, biology and English. Altogether, the kids sent 35 letters to a dozen companies. The letters included questions, complaints and suggestions. The responses they got included to personalised letters, two identical form responses from McDonald’s and two similar form responses from Pizza Hut, one which contained a $ 10 voucher and the other, mysteriously, only a $5 voucher (the class believes it’s because the recipient was a girl).

What an amazing real-life lesson these kids learntas they analysed the responses. On the whole, it is not done much to repair the image of the advertisers in th kids’ eyes. These kids have been taught to snuff out hypocrisy, to take action and to be savvy consumers. They are learning how to be better decision makers and look with a critical eye on the world they inhabit. All of these are absolutely essential life skills in the 21st century. Three cheers for the teacher!

Cheap movie tickets all smoke and mirrors

Published
by
Barrie Bramley
on April 8, 2005
in Marketing and sales, Ripping and burning - Digital entertainment and The Quick and the Dead - case studies
. 1 Comment

So the whole ‘new low prices’ for movies thing has come to an end, not even a full month after activation. (click here for Marketing Web Article) You gotta love these guys.

Didn’t it seem strange when they cut their prices by over 50%? It felt like a desperate move in the first place. Things were obviously getting ugly from a bottom line point of view. Did anyone believe for a minute it was about making movies affordable to the majority of South Africans? Give me a break. And now we see just how ‘civic minded’ they were being. Because now we discover that some movies prices are back to plus R35. Beeeooootiful.

You can’t mess with your customers like this. Or can you? I want a front row seat for this one.

Correct, cute, cheeky, and/or clever. But which company connects?

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on March 29, 2005
in Marketing and sales and The Quick and the Dead - case studies
. 3 Comments

A few weeks ago, a wealthy South African businessman paid about R 22,000 to take out a half page advert in a local Cape Town newspaper. His intention was to highlight the bad service he had received from Landrover as they tried to fix his car which had gone into a Landrover dealer for a service. Hyundai responded the following day with a cheeky advert of their own, and Landrover followed suit a day or so later. Who were the winners and losers? Who really connected?
Continue reading ‘Correct, cute, cheeky, and/or clever. But which company connects?’

Extending your advertising reach

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on November 30, 2004
in Articles, Innovation and Marketing and sales
. 0 Comments

As professional speakers, workshop facilitators and business strategists, we use a multimedia and edutaining approach to our presentation. This means that we are constantly looking for new multimedia clips, including music and especially adverts. Adverts attempt to lock into current and emerging trends, as well as connect with the heart and soul of individuals. And it this same approach that we use in our edutaining presentations.

Continue reading ‘Extending your advertising reach’

In search of the marketing holy grail - Generations and Advertising literacy

Published
by
Graeme Codrington
on November 29, 2004
in Articles, Generations and Marketing and sales
. 0 Comments

Many models (gender, income, cultural groupings, age) do a great job. Each has a place and each describes an important aspect of the market. But is there room for yet another model or framework that significantly adds to our understanding of the market from an marketing point of view?

There is, and it is known as ‘Generational Theory’ � in other words, understanding and describing the market in terms of ‘generational attitudes’. Generational Theory is a theory of social history that describes and explains changes in public attitudes over time. It was first systematically described by Neil Howe and William Strauss, in their 1991 book, Generations, and further developed in the follow up, The Fourth Turning (they also have an excellent website: http://www.fourthturning.com).

Continue reading ‘In search of the marketing holy grail - Generations and Advertising literacy’