Emotions Stick

Amul, an East Indian Company that manufactures a variety of dairy products, recently created a commercial to promote their spreadable butter.

Now, butter isn't a very thrilling product, but I'm dairy intolerant so who the hell am I to comment? Come on though, we have all seen butter and margarine commercials and they really don't resonate - unless butter rocks your world, and that's fine too, we all have our kinks and fetishes. But what Amul was able to do went far beyond what others have done in that industry, they created an emotional connection through story telling. 

Check it out:

The story that most parents live and breathe every day was created in this commercial. Alarm goes off, wake up child, make breakfast, brush teeth, get dresses and out the door to school they go. But even I reared up with pride when the ending came with the little boy doing it all on his own. 

Emotions are powerful, they are the way we shape our memories and how we perceive the world around us. It's the way we all communicate universally - words don't speak as loud as actions, and emotions speak louder than all forms of communication. Why? Because that is how we connect. 

Amul did what few organizations have effectively replicated - emotional targeting and story telling. I'm starting to see a trend. 

Thanks Amul! Way to stick.

Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

Once upon a time, there were jewelry stores that advertised their products on billboards, in newspapers and on television. All of their marketing was pretty consistent in the sense that it would show a variety of blingtastic items, happy couples cuddling up, and sale information to drive store traffic. The industry allocated more funds to their branding, and when they did advertise beyond that it was always associated to big sales and "Act Now!" call to action campaigns.

Spence (as in Spence Diamonds) changed all of that.

Instead of focusing on discounting, Spence Diamonds moved away from conventional ideas of how to market, and created a constantly evolving storyline that would be played over the radio capturing the attention of everyone listening. That's right - you didn't want to change stations because of how captivating it was.

Sean, owner of Spence Diamonds, and Sarah, the Marketing girl, team up on the commercials and educate the listeners about how their stores and items are different while also showcasing their human qualities. Sarah, in one commercial, stated that she didn't feel like she and Sean were the picture of sophistication and thus were not presenting the right image to their audience. Sean responded by comforting Sarah by building her up and saying she was special and the perfect person to be representing the company brand. It was heartfelt, warming, and it was something so unique that this type of marketing was now their own. The listeners now felt like friends/family of these two radio personalities and wanted to hear the next part of the story. This time, Sarah found a boyfriend... take a listen and see what I mean.




Spence Diamonds caught my attention because they thought outside of the box. They created not only a story but the chance to identify with their audience and evoke emotions by presenting situations and conversations that we all experience with our friends and family.

Thank you Spence for marketing in a way that captures not only my ears, but my imagination, keeping your brand top of mind.

 

Leading The Consumer Down the Yellow Brick Road

 

 

 

Alright.... you're attention down here please. This billboard, displayed around the City of Calgary (a.k.a. Cow Town) captures the attention of every man, woman, child.... bird, plane, etc. It is HOT.  I'm positive these girls had a lovely childhood and their parents are proud. Way to pay for your college education, you all have a promising future as our leaders of tomorrow.

 

Now, the poster itself does a terrific job of capturing your attention, because you're most likely a little bored on your drive (especially during rush hour) and this image is shocking. It's almost crossing a line but not quite. Even if you can get past the scantily clad women, the message is erotic, promising "The Most Fun You Can Have With Your Boots On". This billboard actually found its way into my brain, and stayed top of mind long enough for me to drive over one evening to meet some friends.

 

This dear readers, is where it all went terribly wrong...

 

Upon walking into the Casino, I was greeted by the usual bouncers, and then walking past them I was underwhelmed by the complete opposite of what the above poster promised. Around every corner was a man or woman, median age 70 who had completely lost the will to live. Where were the hotties? This was the biggest shock of all.... there weren't any. Even the Go Go Dancers looked like they wanted to light up and numb the pain of a) boredom and b) depression.

 

The Poster advertises the name "Cowboys Casino" which unfortunately leads the audience to believe that these hot young girls will be in the Casino walking around, flirting, and giving them a time to remember while playing the slots and winning big (the Canadian dream if you weren't lucky enough to get hired into the oil and gas sector). In tiny type though, at the bottom of the ad, the second website address advertises the nightclub.... ah, yes.... the important factor I was missing. Though, I'm sure I am not alone. Why the words Casino were typed in such big font when the venue they wanted to take traffic to was their nightclub, is truly beyond me. It's misleading, and I am sure they knew that. Chances are they were willing to show hot girls, drive traffic to their location, and risk people being unhappy with the casino but still wanting to have an encounter with the poster girls. It is a good tactic, but it will at some point leave a bad taste in the mouths of the intelligent. But perhaps that isn't the crowd they are catering to.

 

The issue really is, that at the end of my time at Cowboys, after seeing what I saw, I can have more fun anywhere with my boots on, and I don't really think Ethel is my type anyway.

 

 

Milestone in My Mailbox

Milestones did a phenomenal job this evening of catching my attention. By having a 4 point fold out that included a ton of information along with glued on gift cards, this was a piece am hanging on to. Way to go Milestones! You impacted me and we will be visiting soon!

Junk Mail

Every day I go to my mailbox (okay, every few days because I'm lazy and my husband seems to be immune to the freezing cold temperatures). Every time I do so I am inundated with paper. It's like an entire forest was slaughtered and not for a good cause because I'm not moved by any of these postcards. I quickly glance through each piece, separating my mail from the "junk". It is such a depressing daily ritual because let's face the facts - at the end of the day, a mundane day of sitting and working your ass off, you want to be rewarded with something that will surprise you in a good way.

Every time we go to that mailbox we subconsciously are hoping to receive something special, something just for us. Something besides bills, insurance information and the usual crap ads that have no relevance to our lives. It is depressing because instead of that surprise we were hoping for, it's just the same old ritual with no reward.

This evening my husband leafed through our mail and handed me, as he normally does, the "junk mail". To most of you, receiving the leftovers of mail from your partner would probably come across as more of an insult, but truth be told, I love advertising and I enjoy looking through it to see what resonates.

My husband after a few minutes asked "so, can I throw this stuff out?" and instead of giving my approval as I normally do I quizzed him on why certain pieces looked like junk compared to other pieces. His response was the following:

1) Too many pages (Go Pages)
2) Cheap deals that I don't feel are worth my while
3) I want something tactile like gift cards that give more credibility. (Milestones)

My husband wasn't far off, in fact I would bet that he sits in exactly the same spot as most people when it comes to their direct mail or "junk mail". It is far too complicated or busy, there is too much focus on discounting a solution that the prospect does not even know about, and the company fails to create credibility. So they all create a reputation for themselves as "junk" because they have failed to educate the consumer of WHY their solution, HOW it would benefit them and WHY the company deserves to be chosen over their industry peers. Most companies assume that the person reviewing the collateral are looking to buy now when most people are only just being introduced to that brand and still need time and information before they can commit.

Committing, for any of us, is hard. I like to use the analogy of dating when it comes to marketing. You catch the eye of that special someone and instead of running up to them and proposing that you get hitched, have 5 kids and run away to some foreign land, you smile. That smile captures their attention and they smile back. From here you walk toward each other and say hello, introduce each other and on each date from there, learn about what makes them tick and what makes the two of you compatible. Sounds a lot like marketing actually. Marketers who are experienced understand this concept, they know that they don't need to drop their pants to get the business, it's about interacting with the customer, understanding them, engaging them on a higher level and then finding that fit. It's called a mutualistic relationship. It's called standing out from everyone else and catching your audience offhand by being that wonderful and unexpected surprise.

What resonates with you in your mailbox? Wouldn't it be amazing to get something that surprised you and invited you to the dance?

Oh the possibilities.

 

Traditional vs. Digital

 Over the course of my career in the world of marketing and advertising, I have had many clients adamantly tell me that they were moving to "THE Internet" as traditional channels (newspaper, broadcast, radio, etc.) were far too expensive.  This black and white thinking has created the idea that social media ("the internet") is a better means to building brand awareness and creating a lasting impression than a more tangible channel that can stimulate the senses. What these individuals are trying to say is: "we have been royally screwed by traditional channels that charge a ton of money, have limited to no means of measuring results and time after time have not given me a return on the investment"...(and let's be honest, it's quite a substantial investment). I get it! the fact that a full page in a prime position of a print publication such as the New York Times used to cost as much as $20,000 for one day, is a huge cost for any company for one shot. Radio and Television are much the same as their costs for prime air time is costly and your audience are even more difficult to engage as they just want to enjoy their programming. Thus the invention of PVR, Sirius Satellite Radio, etc. We want to consume the information and our patience is getting shorter with being interrupted for the sake of hearing the next pitch. 

Yet, in the digital realm, though it provides an all access pass to your audience at an affordable price point, we are still confronted with the same issue of capturing the user's attention. We have all seen the ads on Facebook that populate our feed as we scroll down our list of posts. Instead of your friend Jenny's post of her trip to Mexico, an advertisement from XYZ Photography comes up and interrupts you because your Facebook status shows you were recently engaged, so of course you need a photographer! You'll need a florist too, and suddenly you are bombarded with most posts on your feed being behaviorally targeted ads from various vendors in the wedding industry. After about a week of seeing these ads, you stop actually looking at them, instead you read around them (banner blindness so to speak). That's what I did after becoming engaged to my now husband -  and now that I have updated my status to "married| I no longer get fed that hefty volume of ads...I guess marriage makes me thrifty and not a good target audience. ;-)

Gone are the days of spray and pray. Now, marketers everywhere are scouting out effective ways to interrupt the audience using a variety of channels. Here is what that could look like...

Dan wakes up in the morning. He walks out to his door, grabs the paper on his step and opens it to the first section where he will read the local news while eating his breakfast. At the bottom of the page he is interrupted by an advertisement of his local grocery store - they are opening a new location and tonight is their grand opening. He glances it over with some interest and heads up to get dressed and commute to work. On his drive to work he listens to the radio where the same grocery store announces in a 30 second slot that their grand opening is that evening and will feature a variety of samples and sale items to take advantage of. During the work day, Dan checks his email and notices that the grocery store is having a grand opening and as a previous customer, he is personally invited to come out and can enjoy a free coffee while he shops.

Finally, on his way home Dan's wife calls. She needs Dan to pick up some food items for dinner on his way home and mentioned that she received a direct mail piece from the new store location and that she also saw a t.v. commercial advertising that they were going to have a large sale on. So Dan, after going through his day and having this grocery store make contact with him through multiple touch points, headed to the grocery store because they became top of mind and captured his attention in different ways using each channel. This truly is the most ideal way of working with a marketing mix.

So the next time you think Traditional vs. Digital, consider how your audience is touched by your message and what they are to do with each message when they come in contact with it. It is never black and white, the shades of grey influence just as much if not more.

We've All Been Branded

 Having lived and breathed marketing all of my life, as most of us have, I have been affected by it all on some level. When I have a cold "pass the Kleenex", when I'm down "I need Prozac", when I'm hung-over "get me a Tylenol" and when my kids exhaust me "You're like an Energizer bunny!". The list goes on and on. Marketing not only affects our likes and dislikes, our choices and priorities, but also how we talk, dress, act, etc. It goes so deep that it impacts our relationships and the way we perceive ourselves and others. We are living, breathing advertisements for brands everywhere. That is, if the marketing departments have made a lasting impression that resonates on a deep level with us.

No longer do I have the patience and focus to read a full article in the newspaper, watch a 2 minute commercial or listen to a radio commercial break, and it isn't just me that feels this way. Increasingly, our attention spans, in this new digital age, are becoming so short that the timespan any marketer has to get in front of us and in our heads is becoming less and less. We, as consumers, as the audience, want to experience everything whenever, wherever. Hurry up!

My life in the marketing world focuses in on what affects me. What resonates deeply and keeps me coming back for more. The real life case studies that I encounter and will ultimately share with you. It is so important to understand how the public interact with your brand from your first encounter to each and every point of contact from thereon in.