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For most companies this economy is raising lots of concerns and rightly so.  Along with the silent majority, I share the optimism that we are experiencing a market correction, masquerading as a recession.  Anytime you hear the word greed in play, a correction will ultimately be required.

Unfortunately greed is never a victimless sin (note I didn’t say ‘crime’ as there is a much higher price to pay).  Someone always pays the price, and this time it is significant enough that an entire nation has felt the blunt of the blow.

Regardless of  doom and gloom everywhere you look, the economy is still alive and breathing.  Someone, somewhere, right now, is buying from someone else.  That’s a fact.  Those who maintain during difficult times are the ones who are well positioned in the marketplace.  Now is the time to spend dollars on market exposure.  BUT, don’t waste your time and money if you are not well positioned, so the market will pay attention.  This means proving you are…

1. UNIQUE  from the alternatives!   What makes your products and services special?  How are you differentiated?  What can only you accomplish that few others, without your collective of resources and expertise provide?
2. COMMUNICATING your accomplishments!   Customers want to see demonstrated results that they can measure their expectations by.  Are you telling your story in the marketplace?  The age-old human tradition of storytelling is more relative than ever before.  And the best are repeated over and over again.
3. ESTABLISHED for the long term!   Consumers are attracted to winners.  Is your sustainability evident to others?  How may financial institutions are now being questioned solely on the basis of sustainability?  What are you doing to offset any concerns in your market?  Often overlooked, sustainability will evermore prove to be the greatest ’symbol of significance’ that most brands struggle to overcome.  (e.g. Apple, circa 1992)

When you are uncertain about your market, it’s time to examine your market-ing.   Unsophisticated companies tend to place blame on what they believe to be the  obvious, sophisticated companies realize they are the obvious.  Be proactive and prevent borrowing against your future to simply survive today.  Instead, invest today for your future.

I saw these words on a sign recently at a restaurant.  How bold?  If you depend on spellchecker like I do, it should give you pause for affirmation and belonging.  Even a perceived weakness can be presented as a strength - when connected with a group.  Especially when the group is being called to community (or unity in this case).

Connecting with a group of like-minded believers is a basic human need we all share and seek.  Affinity is easily identified when it connects people by brand or activity, but what about individual talents or even challenges people face.   These attributes pull people into community as much as any favored brand or activity.  Misspelling wouldn’t really be considered an activity.  Neither would dwarfism, but annually little people from around the world gather for a week of fellowship, fun, and dialog.  I think this is affinity at it’s best, especially when it has nothing to do with choice.

Does affinity run deeper when it evolves from lack of choice?  Would this be an alternative view for the basis of our laws on discrimination?  (At minimum, a deeper appreciation for people that are different.)

Don’t take this wrong, I’m not suggesting misspelling is on par with little people or race or religion for that matter.  Whatever be our individual challenges, interests, or strengths, affinity can usually be found in even the most basic of human trait.

Have you ever seen one of those stories on TV where two children with a really rare disease meet for the first time?  That is affinity.  The look on their faces. The feeling of, “connecting with someone just like me”.  Where they can “belong” and “connect”.

Brand Affinity is strongest when it begins with community.  And it is the ultimate position for any brand: to be the catalyst or connector between like-minded people who share interest.  Does your brand provide a place of community: where people untie?

We regularly receive calls whereby the caller is seeking a digital space marketing solution.  Great!  We can deal with the fact that we are known for providing those, along with some fairly sophisticated strategy and expertise for marketing affinity brands.  And we’re pretty good at it.  But before we can begin to pre-qualify the caller we recognize their motivation is based on one thing.  The digital space has taken away their excuses, and they cannot procrastinate any longer. They have to get something done - now.

What gives them away is the use of the words “I promised my boss…” or “I know exactly what I need”.  (Interestingly, this also tells us they are not the real decision-maker - nor the real client.)  For some, it is obvious, their job depends on it.  It’s time they deliver, or else.  The error of self-diagnosis is usually a dead giveaway.  And anyway, if it were accurate why would they need us?

Clients needing effective solutions that deliever, seek out experts, and value their opinions.  Effective digital marketing solutions cannot be accomplished by any one person.  It’s too complex and requires to many areas of expertise to rely on one mind.  Effective web is only accomplished by a meeting-of-the-minds (and expertise).

The digital space has taken away the excuses, but has also pressured results.  Unfortunately, it’s also why there is so much crap on the web.  Every time you cannot find what you are looking for on the web, you are probably wading through someone else’s idea of “no more excuses”.  They had to get something out there quick.

I read this article recently and want to share an excerpt…

On the Road to a New Effectiveness Model: 

By: Anca Cristina Micu of Sacred Heart University &  Joseph T. Plummer of The Advertising Research Foundation

Consumers bring there own stories, experiences, and associations in their memories to ads, and may substitute their own elements into the unfurling drama to help it become more relevant or meaningful.  Testing with images and with verbal material has shown that consumers often remember elements in an ad that were not in it, and miss elements that were present.

The story the ad tells engages the consumer’s emotions and triggers stored associations, personal stories, brand experiences and images and generates that first emotional imprint in the brain.   Emotion involves the consumer and the ad’s story gets integrated in the mesh of memories and  schema in the consumer’s long-term memory.

Memories have a deep association with storytelling. To tell a story is to remember an important idea – we remember by telling stories – it is something we virtually have to do.   As agents of the larger society, stories help consumers create memories and hence define their self-identities and interpret cultural trends and rituals.

Companies use storytelling to shape the memories which consumers record and recall. Hence, the memory and meaning assigned by the consumer to a
brand is one co-created by the advertiser and the consumer themselves.

It’s been two years since Google bought YouTube for 1.6 Billion (yes that’s a ‘B’) in stock.  Skeptics crucified the deal saying it was over priced.  At that time YouTube was serving over 100 million user generated video streams. That’s a third of all video streams on the web.  The closest competitor, Yahoo, has only six percent of the web video market.

YouTube’s earnings for 2009 are expected to top 500 million.  How’s that for a Blue Ocean startup based around Affinity groups wanting to connect and share content based on interest.

Earlier this summer CBS paid 1.8 Billion for CNET Networks.  Not much was said about that deal.

The rise of the new consumer continues to be an amazing transformation.  And none of this would be possible without the affinity minded consumer.

Our Family has a Sunday tradition of eating lunch at McDonalds. My wife and I relax, read the paper and chat while the kids enjoy the play area. We have been doing this for years.

This past Sunday something interesting happened. Our 5-year old had gotten hurt and so my wife was carrying him, and she struggled to get the door open. I was following, wrangling the other 5 kids, and looking ahead I noticed the manager standing a few feet from the door watching her.  With no else around, he just stood there.  He didn’t lift a finger to assist…not even a twitch, comment, or “welcome to McDonalds”.

One of the primary reasons our kids enjoy this particular McDonalds is they offer mini ice cream cones for free. Fifteen minutes before we leave, I call out “ice cream time” and the kids get all excited and head up to the counter to get their weekly treat; noses barely poking over the countertop like small dogs trying to get morsels from the table.

Suddenly, the unbelievable happened. The manager informs us that free ice cream is only for ‘Happy Meal’ customers.  I instantly realized I was on the loosing end of poor customer service

For me, this event brings to light how important it is for companies hoping for Affinity Brand status to focus on customer service; not just ordinary “have a great day and congratulations, we got your order right“ customer service but “WOW, they really care about me” customer service.  Clearly, the manager doesn’t see a residual revenue stream where satisfied customers brag to other parents about how great they treat you at this particular McDonalds.  He only sees a family that buys hamburgers. My guess is that he has never taken the time to look at the name on the debit card so he can spontaneously say “Thanks for coming in today Mr. LaTessa.”

Let me make something perfectly clear. We love McDonalds and we generally deal with great, friendly, hard working staff. We also don’t have any unrealistic expectations about what McDonalds is going to provide us.  McDonalds will never (and can never) be an Affinity Brand. They are a brand built on convenience and nothing more. They succeed, not because their brand is timeless or of particularly high quality or because they have a committed group of followers; they succeed because their product provides a quick easy meal. There is nothing wrong with that, but if I had a product to brand, that is not the way that I would want it perceived.

Oh…by the way, the kids got their ice cream. My wife is an amazing persuader.

If you have ever had the opportunity of experiencing some of the best affinity brands in the world, you will notice one thing they all have in common; AWESOME CUSTOMER SERVICE.

You might have guessed QUALITY. And that would be a great guess as they share that as well. But today, we are talking about CUSTOMER SERVICE.

There is a significant difference between ‘the customer is always right’ and ‘the customer is always impressed’.

The best affinity brands put much more effort into impressing customers than they do trying to ensure customers are always pleased or happy. You cannot control the customer, but you can control your customer service efforts. Many times impressing the customer does as much to distract the customer from any issues you might have as it results in pleasing the customer.

Today, I walked into the Ritz Carlton hotel in San Francisco. From the time I gave the valet my car keys to walking inside to the registration desk could not have been more than 90 seconds. In those few seconds we were greeted by name, no less than four times. “Welcome Mr. & Mrs. Smith”. Sure they were all wearing ear monitors taking cues of our presence as we entered the hotel lobby, but most impressive to say the least. They could have said my room was not ready, or that I had to sleep on the floor. It wouldn’t have mattered. I was so impressed and cared for at that point, I could only focus on the details of how well we were being serviced.

Interestingly, a half hour later we received a call from the Intercontinental Hotel in Monterey (where we had just left), asking if our stay had been pleasant and suggesting that we were always welcome back. Later in the afternoon, my wifes cell phone rang and it was Land’s End clothiers asking if she had received her recent online order, and if she found everything to her ’satisfaction’.  Wow!  Now that’s customer service.

So, what did these efforts cost? Really very little, because these customer service tasks are part of the on-going processes already in place at each of these great companies. First and foremost, they each were using their human resources to make the connection. Next, they were timely in their execution.

ARE YOU LISTENING? Customer Service costs very little - and pays significant dividends! And it is a primary characteristic of Affinity Brands.

Watching the MTV Music Video awards this year was like witnessing a sincere best-effort attempt that failed. Let’s see, they only give out 8 awards on the broadcast and Britney Spears won 3 of them. Hmmm? Somewhere between Britney’s comeback speech and the outright disparaging remarks toward the Jonas Brothers’ purity rings - the program was dying a slow death. And they knew it.

And they have so many resources to work with. It remains an in-demand event. Filling seats with superstars is not a problem - yet.

Someone, who will remain nameless, walked into the room while I was suffering through the program and politely said,”too bad they have no Talent to work with!” I responded ratherly frankly, “there’s a big difference between Talent and Bravery. Bravery trumps Talent every time.”

I am continually amazed at the genuine talent in todays society. When I was in high school there may have been 3 of us that played guitar in the entire school. Today, two out of every three kids play guitar. And they really are better than we were.

With so much talent to go around, it’s simple - bravery wins out. Those who find opportunity do so because of their bravery toward exposing their talent to the masses. Real talent doesn’t dismiss stage fright.

So where does this leave MTV. To blame, I guess. It’s obvious to all of us, they had plenty of brave people in the room. This thing died long before it aired.

So I’m asking myself the question, “can presidential candidates actually be affinity brands”?

I spent a few hours on the road today and saw plenty of political bumper stickers. It appears that everyone driving a Toyota Prius is voting for Barrack Obama? What does this mean?  Is this reality? Scientific? Is Toyota passing out bumper stickers with every new purchase?

I realize not everyone driving a Prius will vote for Obama, but what I saw today would pass the test of market sampling, including margin-of-error.  Sure, I am intrigued by data and too often ask the question, “why?”

Of course Lifestyle ‘perception’ is a large part of affinity brands, but what is the basis for this connection with Obama? Is Obama the affinity brand, or Toyota Prius, or both?  I’ve heard both candidates suggest they will attract all audiences. Is this really possible?  Not for affinity brands!

And apparently not for Prius owners.

One of the things I most like about Affinity Brands is that they have to be grounded in ‘user verification’.

This really isn’t something that can be fabricated by marketing promotion. We regularly talk with companies seeking to transform their brand into an Affinity Brand, but the truth cannot be altered. Either your products are user-verified, or they’re not. So which is it?

Sure, we enjoy engaging those brands that are yet to be verified, and we really enjoy the discovery of those that eventually prove to be so. No doubt, there are many advantages for Affinity Brands in today’s marketplace. Consumers are looking for those brands.

Quality.

Community.

Timeless.

In recent months, the protocol for identifying specific members of a target audience is shifting dramatically. I saw a great example recently, it is the online, community-based tool called Jigsaw. It is the first online tool of its kind to mature to the point where its impact in the B2B marketing space will soon be felt. In the past, companies like Hoovers and OneSource have provided “all-you-can-eat” detailed prospect lists usually for an annual membership fee, usually costing thousands of dollars annually. For smaller B2B businesses, these fees are simply not part of the budget. In addition, traditional information resources are only able to update the information quarterly or yearly. This is unacceptable.

Again, we see the model changing by making access to the data free of charge. For Jigsaw, it is a points based system where you earn points for making contributions to the database. The more data you contribute, the more points, or credits, you earn. This model encourages members to submit information from their own CRM. Now: the information you have provided, such as a valid email address, is now up for grabs to anyone using this free Internet tool. So, once again we face a privacy issue. Read on.

The most important thing we should all learn from this is that your information will be out there quicker than ever before. It is logical that this model will eventually include consumer personal information. Does that scare you? It shouldn’t. The more information a marketing organization has on a contact, the more relevant their communication will be with the consumer. (usually including a value exchange) ROI and technically-savvy business development teams will gravitate towards these tools and eventually, we all agree the broadcast method of marketing will go away.

The benefit? Your direct mail and email solicitations include only the content you’re interested in. So go ahead and express your business and personal interests in these tools voluntarily. Don’t you think Facebook and Linked-In are already determining your preferences, trends, etc.?

BECAUSE THEY CAN

Our clients expect exceptional service and an exceptional product. Why? Because they can! If they don’t feel like they are getting just that, they’ll take their budgets elsewhere to get it.

PHONE IT IN

Sure, sure. Everyone knows this deep down, right? But in a distressed economy, best be sure this concept is front and center. Now is not the time to “phone it in.”

Whether you are a fellow marketer or CEO of a major corporation, how we service our clients has just as much weight (if not more, in some cases) as the quality product we produce.

In my case, the product we produce is strategic marketing programs for Affinity brands. While the quality of our creativity is ultimately in the eye of the beholder … some wouldn’t know good creative if it “sat on their lap and called them ‘mama’” … proactive communication, astute budget management, measurable results and making your client look like the hero are all universal pluses we must continually leverage in order to establish and retain our solid client relationships.

THE PENDULUM SWINGS

Ultimately, history has proven that the economy is a pendulum that will eventually swing back in your favor. In the meantime, the customer service skills and practices we hone in these times of lean can make us more effective and competitive when opportunity once again abounds.

We purchased a 2003 Softail in July with the intent of joining some friends at Sturgis in South Dakota this year. In preparation for our trip, we absolutely had to invest in new apparel. Of course we purchased ALL Harley Davidson branded items…boots, shirts, hats, helmets, gloves, leather jackets, etc. As previous ‘Quad’ enthusiasts, we couldn’t wear our “FOX” apparel while riding our Harley! To mix another brand with HD would be “not cool”.

With doubts about riding our new hog for 14 hours, we decided to tow a trailer. As we pulled away from Kansas City toward Sturgis, we began to see other riders on the way as well. I noticed that with every passing vehicle pulling a trailer of bikes, or biker riding their Harley, my husband gawked out the window and gave them each a big wave. I found this rather humorous considering we were recent Harley Davidson purchasers. My husband would’ve never waved to anyone on a Harley, previous to our purchase!

Once we arrived at Sturgis, and the days passed, I noticed something else. Because of our choice of brands, we automatically BELONGED to something. It was an initiation without the rite of passage ceremony. We experienced an immediate acceptance into a new community of friends. How cool was that!

When you think about Harley Davidson, you automatically think motorcycle. However, it’s not just about the motorcycle. This brand is huge and few brands are as big as this. It’s life changing; a brand that goes way beyond just motorcycle. A true Affinity Brand for people from all walks of life, and they are slavishly devoted to it.

Way to go HD!

Whenever my wife and I have a couple of days available for an escape we head East and end up spending a couple of nights in what is fast becoming our favorite, short term get-away. Many people, even within the state of Missouri have never heard of Hermann, yet it’s a town we’ve developed a real affinity with. As I’ve thought about this I’ve decided it’s as much about what Hermann isn’t as what it is.

If you’re looking for a place where you can get lost in a book, stroll quiet streets, hear the sounds of insects or enjoy a glass of wine while watching the sunset over the Missouri River, then Hermann is your kind of place. If you want a lot of fast-paced entertainment, hip nightlife, and up-scale boutiques you won’t find any of that in Hermann. Because of what Hermann is and isn’t, we have a true romance with Hermann; a heart connection. I guess that’s why we feel such a strong affinity with this small Missouri town.

Established in 1837 by a visionary group of German immigrants it’s doubtful there was ever the intent of creating anything more than a great place to live and raise their families. In more recent years several entrepreneurs have purchased many of the area wineries and Bed & Breakfasts (or started their own) in pursuit of their own dreams. As their business ventures have gained success so has the popularity of this river community. However, I don’t think that either the founding fathers or the “reviving” fathers set out to make an Affinity Brand of their town. Instead, I believe they followed their own passions, their own hearts and created something that found resonance deep within their souls.

Affinity Brands tend to be born out of passion more than plan. They don’t’ usually appeal to the masses but a smaller group of people who value what the brand represents and offers. Sure, they can have broad appeal, and frequently they do but they’re not for everyone, and that in itself is part of the attraction. So, if you find yourself traveling on Interstate 70 between Columbia and St. Louis and see the exit for Hermann, venture south a few miles and see what kind of appeal this Affinity Town holds.