Mar
27
Welcome Home! That’s a nice touch; not quite true, but certainly forces me to examine the brand experience stepping into the Georgian Terrace Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia today. It’s a beautiful place reminiscent of the historic south. Customer service was around every corner.
I’m here for eCamp. It’s an owners-group of like-companies from various markets across North America. We meet twice a year to share experiences, catch up, steal ideas and make them our own. In the friendliest of ways…
As usual, the hotel room wasn’t ready, but hey its lunchtime anyway. The concierge sent me to Mary Mac’s Tea Room, just down the street. He called it southern-comfort food. After an hour or so, including fried oysters & shrimp, collard greens, sweet potato soufflé, and peach cobbler; I wasn’t feeling much comfort at all.
From the moment I sat down I was treated as though I was a regular customer. The waiter never attempted to get to know me. Everything he said and did was to treat me as though he already knew me and as if I was in-the-know. I never felt like an outsider. I immediately felt accepted.
Most restaurants never realize the great privilege they have for immediate customer conversion. Having entered the restaurant and sat down, I immediately moved from prospective-customer to customer. So, all efforts were then focused on moving me from customer to brand-champion, and Mary Mac’s Tea Room has a proven formula; conversation. Everything was about the conversation. They understand the age of engagement.
Most organizations don’t know their customer, much less ever engage in conversation. I’m talking about meaningful conversation; what keeps them up at night and what gets them up in the morning? What are they saying? Who are they talking about? What are they saying about you?
Most organizations continue to only talk about their product; its features and benefits. B-o-r-i-n-g!
Ask questions and engage! Today’s questions are tomorrows conversations with others.
Mar
22
Starbucks Reaches Out
Filed Under Marketing, Random Thoughts | Author: Matt Johnson | 1 Comment
On Wednesday, Starbucks announced My Starbucks Idea. It’s basically an online suggestion box (with the trappings of Dell’s Ideastorm), and allows visitors to submit, rate and vote on their fav’s.
This is a true, grassroots outreach effort. I wonder if last month’s sabatical had anything to do with it…hmmm. I’m liking the idea that Starbucks is going to the source and directly involving the customer in “where we go from here.” I’m also impressed with the direct interchange that is happening. Some of the top ideas are pulling 50+ comments. There is also a section that will show some of the ideas in action, which currently displays some candid responses from Chirs and Howard.
Big Kudos to the effort.
Now it’s a wait and see. I’m sure there will continue to be some great ideas…and I’m sure there will be much conversation and interchange. With it’s track-record of customer service and innovation, I’m confident Starbucks will put these ideas in motion and build an even stronger Brand Experience that will garnish even more champions than ever.
Starbucks will do well to remember the key component to the Brand Experience. Start with the product. If the product isn’t cutting the mustard, then any amount of brilliant outreach is for not. It would be well worth the effort to step back and look at the latte…concentrate on the coffee…mend the mocha. I’m not sure a 3-hour training session will accomplish this…but I applaud the efforts in tapping the public for guidance. This transparent conversation is another fundamental factor in creating a solid Brand Experience. I trust it will bode well in the pursuit of building a better brand. I’m looking forward to the coming months.
UPDATE
Chrysler is also “joining the conversation” at chryslerlistens.com. Here is a great article from our friends at AdAge for reference. I’m really liking what I’m seeing…companies opening up in a big way.
Bold Moves.
Mar
19
Apple On Idol
Filed Under Random Thoughts | Author: Matt Johnson | Leave a Comment
American Idol is back in full swing, and this has proven to be one of the best seasons in the making. Last night’s program was no exception. Two things happened that warrant comment (at least for me).
1. David Cook went Pete Frampton on us, and broke out the talk box. Gutsy move, but he pulled it off…dubbing him the “cool-guy” of the line up this year.
2. Idol continues its blatant Branded Entertainment. AT&T, CocaCola and Ford have all strongly participated in the Idol branding phenomenon. Throughout the show you get a huge dose of placement that is anything but subtle.
I make point number two for one main reason. Apple is still king in Brand Experience.
Seacrest brought up an iPhone from the audience and shamelessly plugged Apple for it’s ability to stay up on Idolatry. He held up the device and said the words “This is an iPhone.” What was even more amazing was the immediate and fairly significant response from the crowd…for a phone.
I’m trying my best to be as unbiased as I can (being a big fan, and all)…but Apple gets it. They have officially replaced all other options for personal mobile devices (and really everything else that computes in my book. ) That they took a very simple approach to placement within the single largest Broadcast Entertainment Spectacle is one thing. That the phone brought applause is a whole other tub of grease.
I can’t think of another brand that would cause as much excitement in that type of setting. Not to mention the iPhone’s sad competition. The approach certainly wouldn’t have worked with any other device on the market. “This is the T-Mobile Wing.” It doesn’t even come close to the same ring(no pun intended). We would have heard nothing but the sound of iPhones being pulled out of pockets and purses for a responsive visual display.
Apple can pull this off because it not only has a very loyal and excitable audience. It has fans. Fans that applaud their source of gadget love any chance they can. Even in a setting like Idol, Apple can be cool. So cool that the mere mention of its name can create instant and tangible Brand Experience. Another thought that this congers up is the fact that iPhone’s applause represented something more than just LOVE for a product. When I attend one of my kids functions, and they perform well…I get so emotionally excited that I can hardly contain myself. I want to applaud so loud that all can hear me. I want them to know “that’s my son!” The same is true for Apple fans. The connection with the brand is so strong that they weren’t simply applauding because they like the phone. They were applauding to support, encourage, cheer and champion the brand…THEIR brand. They wanted the world to know that they are a card-carrying member of an elite society. They were celebrating their “kid” performing on the largest stage in the world. If you didn’t believe it, or know it before…you do now.
Apple doesn’t need much help from me. They’re doing EXACTLY what a strong brand should. Looking for every opportunity to engage and create Brand Experience for their fans. The product is a given. It’s unmatched. All Apple has to do is “walk into a room” and it gets applause. Everytime.
Mar
17
Royal Brand Experience
Filed Under Marketing, Random Thoughts | Author: Gerald Smith | 1 Comment
All Aboard
Two days ago I flashed my passport and sea pass papers and stepped aboard the ultimate brand experience; a Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship (Liberty of the Seas). They tell us this is the biggest boat on the ocean (and they are also building a bigger one). It’s a floating city.
Someone told me today that the ship is connected via satellite with Johns Hopkins Hospital and onboard doctors can perform open-heart surgery, if necessary. What’s more amazing is that I can access the Internet for .55 cents a minute! That’s much better than my last cruise two years ago, when it was 2.95 a minute.
The Age of Engagment
Royal Caribbean is more than a brand-experience. There is something to do 24 hours a day and everywhere I look I see ‘RC’, reminding me that I am still on a Royal Caribbean Cruise. Every hour the brand engages the customer. I could not begin to accept every invitation for brand participation. Engagement is everywhere I turn. I think I gained about 2 pounds of engagement at dinner this evening.
They have closed a circuit broadcast called RCTV which is an in-house channel showing ship information and interesting documentaries about the making and delivery of the ship. The programming intrigues me. Instead of wonderfully shot footage of this magnificent vessel arriving in Miami for its maiden voyage, they show the trip to Miami and all the challenges they faced to bring this product to market. Nothing seems too sacred to show.
There are employees arguing about their roles and responsibilities. They show emergencies; for example a water pipe leaking in the computer server room. It’s an amazing example of engaging customers for brand discussion. Several times throughout the day I have overhead someone repeating what they’ve heard on RCTV. Each time it has been about the challenges the ship faced coming to market. This is absolutely brilliant. It’s the age of engagement and customers want the truth.
This is post-reality TV and I am the contestant on a journey.
Mar
13
Stay with the Company Boat
Filed Under Marketing, Random Thoughts | Author: Matt Johnson | 1 Comment
Recently, I read a few pages from a book titled: “Managing Organizational Culture” by Davies. The book focuses on how to determine and nurture the overall health of an organization. I find this especially true for managing the ever challenging creative process.
The premise of the book suggests that every organization has two kinds of beliefs: Guiding Beliefs and Daily Beliefs.
Guiding Beliefs are the principle foundation on which the company was built…or is continuing to be built upon. They are the fundamental precepts of the organization. They rarely change, steadily drive the over-arching strategy, and are all about the way things “ought” to be. Daily Beliefs are the daily decisions that are made in the heat of the moment to best fit the immediate strategy. They ebb and flow with the circumstance. They are the rules and feelings about everyday behavior, and they tend to be situational.
Healthy organizations are absolutely driven by their Guiding Beliefs. Daily Beliefs flow directly from Guiding Beliefs. Daily decisions and tactics support and sustain the foundational principles upon which the organization stands. The main course does not bend, and every decision makes sense within the overall context of where the organization is headed.
Unhealthy organizations are driven more by their Daily Beliefs. There is no foundation that anyone can remember. These organizations tend to have departmental battles, there is little unity, and ultimately the tail is wagging the dog. This approach ultimately promotes an atmosphere where the creative process will no longer thrive. And this can be the underlying reason for why many projects go or don’t go.
I know from experience that a healthy project, or creative strategy will have a clear, definable scope. No matter what your circumstances throw at you, these principles will hold true, and in the end you will have fulfilled the core direction of the project. It takes everyone doing their part; making regular decisions and having regular conversations that point back to that original direction.
An unhealthy project will be driven more by the daily decisions we make. Sometimes you’ll focus on something that is trendy, or flashy, or what you saw on the latest “best of” list. You might have a “brainstorm” and run in a direction that isn’t taking into account the main point of the project. Cool as it may be, you are dancing on a very thin line of contributing to an unhealthy creative process.
I recently likened this to a boat pulling a skier. The boat moves in a constant direction….always focused on what’s ahead…unwaivering in it’s pursuit. The skier is also headed in the same direction, but she is taking more liberty to swing outside of the path a bit. “The wakes are a little more punchy on the other side, so I’ll zip over there and check it out.” The skier is exploring more than the boat has mandated. She is determined to make the experience more exhilarating simply by taking personal initiative and stretching herself. The skier is in a constant state of taking risks, all the while being tethered to where the (hopefully) experienced captain is headed. In the end, she has made a one-of-a-kind run that she can be proud of.
I believe this constant back and forth can be very healthy…and should be a fundamental part of the creative process. Pushing the edges of the original creative direction can be a good thing. It stretches you, and (hopefully) the final execution as well. All the while…you are staying true to what your original purpose is. Every project is an opportunity for us to bring a personal approach. It warrants a certain wiggle room that allows for growth. It is the “stuff” that makes each project special, and makes the experience much more meaningful to the team. These daily decisions can be exhilarating and fun…but they can also be challenging.
We need to remember not to weave too far from the boat (Guiding Beliefs). Danger looms! Sand bars, trees, stumps, rocks, weeds and the like are all waiting for us out there. We don’t want to fall victim to wavering too far from the original direction. It could be very costly…even fatal…to an otherwise healthy project.
Mar
10
Quick - answer the following questions:
“What are the lessons you’ve learned over the last 24 months – besides humility?”
“Is the radio industry in decline?”
“Are magazine in decline?”
These are just a few of the direct questions peppered at a panel of media industry elite at the 4A’s Media Conference. This key panel discussing the titled topic “Are Traditional Media Really Adjusting to the New Digital World?”, spoke cautiously on how digital technology has given rise to dozens of media venues, each with its own set of metrics for determining the success, effectiveness and reach of advertising.
With no clear-cut solutions for media measurement available, it was agreed that a more comprehensive system for figuring out how ads perform across multiple platforms was needed but will take time to develop. “Models right now don’t have the capacity to bring all the touch points together,” said Donna Speciale, president at Publicis Groupe’s MediaVest USA.
The ad industry has relied for decades on measures that gauge the masses, such as Nielsen ratings. Media outlets and ratings gurus are trying to update their methodologies, but it’s been difficult. A TV network may find it has hundreds to thousands of viewers of the program it streams on the web or makes available for IPod download, but may not account for the viewers who DVR’d the program to watch at a later time.
At the same time, different advertisers are wanting different elements measured, complicating attempts to create a standardized system. Some advertisers might measure on cost-per-click while others prefer to measure metrics like time spent viewing a program or video. Digital channels have quickly created a world of niche media. On the plus side, marketers will have opportunity to deliver relevant content to their target market with more precision than ever and do so through multiple channels. The challenge will be to stay ahead of the channel curve and stay in-touch with their target through relevant conversation. All the while, measuring the activity for effectiveness.
More change has occurred to the media industry in the past 5 years than over the 50 years prior. “Digital Changes Everything”, no doubt. I imagine much is to come regarding media measurement within the next 12 months. I also imagine what does come, will go away just as fast as new forms of measurement will surely take its place.I suppose if I was asked “what media measurement practice will become the new standard?”, my response would be “there is no such thing as standard these days.”
Mar
5
Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) has released “Ghosts I-IV” free of charge to the public. Just visit his site, and download the first 9 tracks…guilt-free. Of course if you want a deeper experience you are encouraged to purchase any one of 4 other options. They range from $5 for 36 tracks (which is still a fabulous deal)…all the way up to the $300 ultra-deluxe limited edition package. But, sorry. The 2500 limited super-duper sets have sold out. You’ll just have to be patient (and take out a loan).
OK…math-hat (add the 4…carry the 1) since it’s release yesterday, Reznor has pulled $750k. Yes that’s in 2 days. Sold Out. Can you say KACHING?
This vaguely reminds me of another band that did something very similar not long ago. Big Head Todd and the Monsters is offering their new album FOC as well.
Dark reality for the traditional record label. When they wake up and admit that they are a marketing company, they’ll realize they must focus their efforts on the brand experience of it’s products(artists). They’ll put some focus on providing memorable, life-altering experiences for their customers. This will be what separates the haves and the have-nots. Trent will continue to sell his shelves bare, because he has a fan-base. A fan-base that is constantly searching and waiting for that brand-experience(fix)…that delivers EVERY time. Each time he lays it down like this, the fan-base grows.
With the epoch of the social network, the options for the trad-label are slowly disappearing. The good news for all us average-folk? We’ll get better product. Oh Yes…we’ll get to participate (real-time) in the experience, and share it with others like us (well…maybe not EXACTLY like us…but you get the idea).
Truly, a better world. I can’t wait.
Mar
5
It’s probably one of the coolest things that I use on a near daily basis. To be able to go to a website and create my own radio stations based on my preferences is not only cool technology, it’s just a lot of fun. If you’re not familiar with Pandora it really is like having this great big box of music and then listening to only the stuff you like to hear. I’ve been actively listening for about a month and during that time I can’t tell you how many people I’ve shared it with.
What’s been especially fun is sharing it with older people. They’re like little kids in a candy store. I was with my mother-in-law (who is in her 70’s) a few nights ago and we were visiting a friend of hers. One of the first things they did was go to the friend’s iMac so my mother-in-law could show her Pandora. Both of them were giddy. It was a genuine display of brand advocacy on the part of my mother-in-law and then an immediate adoption on the part of her friend. It was great fun to watch them share this brand experience.
I think they engaged with the brand almost immediately because of a variety of reasons: First, it was something they already loved; music, and not just any music but music tailored to their preferences. Second, Pandora has a very simple interface and is still packed with a lot of information if you’re interested. Third, it’s interactive which heightens the experience. A fourth thing is that it’s never the same because it’s tailored to them and they can continually fine tune their preferences (give it a thumbs down or thumbs up, etc.) and add new stations as often as they like.
It’s easy to be a brand advocate when your brand experience is so positive and fulfilling. I’m marketing their product for them and they’re not even a client – yet!
Mar
5
Most Admired Companies In America
Filed Under Marketing | Author: Gerald Smith | Leave a Comment
On Monday, Fortune Magazine, released their findings on the ‘Twenty Most Admired Companies in America‘. I can’t say I was surprised by anyone on the list. If anything, I was surprised that I am a brand champion of every organization on the list, and either have accounts or use the services of each one. If you are not really sure whether you know what it means to be a brand champion, look at the list, if you are happy to see a company listed, you are probably their brand champion. Here are the 20:
- Apple
- Berkshire Hathaway
- General Electric
- Toyota Motor
- Starbucks
- FedEx
- Procter & Gamble
- Johnson & Johnson
- Goldman Sachs Group
- Target
- Southwest Airlines
- American Express
- BMW
- Costco Wholesale
- Microsoft
- United Parcel Service
- Cisco Systems
- 3M
- Nordstrom
Interestingly, each one of these companies are excellent models of ‘brand-experience‘. Each company has identified both intentional and unintentional experiences whereby a their Brand creates a positive admirable image in the mind of the observer (note I didn’t say customer). For many, their Brand Experiences are controlled (e.g. retail environments, advertising, products, services, websites, etc.), but for some, their Brand Experiences are uncontrolled (e.g. journalistic comment, viral influence, word of mouth). What is most important is that these strong brands result from consistent experiences that form a clear, differentiated overall brand experience.
I hate to say it outloud….don’t you wish you were managing your brand-experience effectively? (you can!)