Good marketing things from 2009?

A Silver Lining in the Dark Economic Clouds?

The past year has certainly been challenging and scary. But to not learn from the events that we lived through would be a waste. Now is a good time to pause and reflect as it appears that the worst is over and we are seeing the beginning of stability that will become a recovery in 2010.
Despite the economic damage caused, plus the pain and suffering endured, there are benefits to be reaped and lessons to be learned. To that end, I wanted to share some of my observations and reflections as we reach year end.

1. Due Diligence Required – any investment, marketing plan, RFP request etc. has to be evaluated seriously and thoroughly before you recommend or approve it. Optimism, hope and the ‘or leading competitor is doing it’ are not acceptable substitutes.
2. Reasonableness – of assumptions, business model and any factor that goes into making a decision. Believing that real estate would continue to appreciate annually at 20% is not reasonable; common sense should have prevailed, and must in the future.
3. Metrics – everything you do in business must be measured, why otherwise would you do it? If you can’t figure that out, walk away.
4. End of ‘conspicuous consumption’– frugality is now ‘in’, which is not good for a recovery, but will be beneficial in the long term. How do you position your product to be a smart buy?
5. Customer service – more value as a differentiator and an element of the marketing mix (ie. Amazon or Zappo’s)
6. Valuing Customers – I have never felt more appreciation and love from companies I give my business to. Let’s keep this up, because without customers, you have nothing.
7. Values DO matter – even the Tiger Woods brand could not withstand the value judgments being made about him, right or wrong.
8. Image is NOT everything – sorry Andre Agassi - substance, being genuine and real does count. The world is far too connected, open and transparent to permit a false image to be maintained for long.
9. Green is real and expected – companies that merely wrap themselves in the green movement are sorely missing the bigger opportunity. Green marketing has direct benefits with customers, employees and every audience you want to reach.
10. Optimism is contagious – think about the mood in the US surrounding the Obama inauguration. Wasn’t it wonderful, refreshing and exciting? We owe it to ourselves to adopt and maintain a positive outlook, perspective and expectation of better things to happen.

In addition to looking back, it is also time to think about 2010. I'm not a big resolution person, but do believe that one must have a plan, if not vision for your upcoming year. It is very appropriate to pause a bit and sincerely think about all phases of your life and what you dream and hope will be true next year.

If you don't have a plan, you haven't got anything. Plan B is good to have too.

Happy New Year and good riddance to 2009!

Athlete Endorsers – Buyer Beware!

2009 has certainly given brands with celebrity athlete endorsers plenty to think about. From Michael Vick to Donte’ Stallworth, Michael Phelps, the MLB Steroid List and Serena Williams there is plenty to remind us of the potential downside of tying major marketing campaigns and your brand image to another person. Now with the Tiger tales emerging, the environment is downright scary. It will take a bold and courageous brand manager to suggest a high profile endorsement idea in the short term.

But return they will. Why? Simply because it works. Brands have a long history of turning to athletes for advertising, spokespeople or other association. Shave cream, tobacco and beer companies found out early on that sport was and remains an effective way to reach a male audience. As media outlets and exposure has exploded, sports have taken on a much larger role in our culture. As a result, stars and celebrity athletes have grown in their ability to shape customer perceptions, buying behavior and create new brands. For example, Nike Golf is the business that Tiger Woods built.

Does that make an endorsement a slam dunk? Certainly not. Like all marketing activities, this requires planning, careful consideration and evaluation. Below are some areas that must be considered before you enter the endorsement waters

1. What is your marketing objective? How long before you achieve it?
2. Know your brand and your target audience
3. Understand the role of the endorser, what do they bring to the program?
4. Define the attributes of an ‘ideal’ athlete
5. Evaluate at least 3, but definitely more than 1 athlete
6. Have the brand manager spend time with the athlete (not the agent!) understanding them and getting a feel for how they will fit with the brand and relate to the target.
7. BEFORE you negotiate with an athlete or agent, be sure you have identified every possible and potential use of their image, likeness, marks etc. You don’t want to go back after a deal is done and ask for something else
8. Share the marketing ideas with the athlete to get their input and allow them to feel like part of the team
9. After you reach terms, it is critical that the brand manager sits with the athlete (again, NOT the agent) one to one, to reaffirm the seriousness of the relationship and desire for it to work for both parties.
10. Delineate a very clear and complete ‘morals clause’ that will enable you to get of the deal for any behavior you find offensive or detrimental to the brand. Don’t settle for boilerplate language, make it as specific and flexible as possible, to meet any unforeseen situations.
11. Insert some ‘penalty’ language, in the event of unforeseeably bad behavior (Tiger). This goes above and beyond breaking the deal and walking away and may allow you to recoup some of the brand value lost. (At the very lest you will have done the right thing)

Typically, agents for bigger name athletes have been reluctant to include language, clauses and other steps that were considered invasive or challenging. Obviously, the Tiger Woods revelation has set a new standard which should enable potential sponsors to seek and obtain greater transparency, flexibility and collaboration. Any brand making a major investment would be wise to consider extensive background checks and investigations, as part of the due diligence process.

The marketing landscape is now shaped by so many outlets and marketing vehicles. The instantaneous nature and easy access is a huge opportunity and threat at the same time. As long as we build our businesses utilizing humans, with all our frailty and weaknesses, the potential for marketing doom exists. Cell phone cameras, security videos and Tweeter are a mere few seconds from the Internet.

Choose wisely and enter the athlete endorsement world with your eyes open. No surprises!

The Obsession with Fame - A lesson for Marketers?

When we look back at 2009 it will be remembered for a few major issues. Obama, the economic woes and Tiger Woods will dominate. But one of the major themes of the year was the media dominance of instant celebrities and fame seeking wannabes.

Fame puts you there where things are hollow

Fame, it's not your brain, it's just the flame

Fame

That burns your change to keep you insane*

Think about the names – Octomom Nadia Suliyman, Carrie Prejean, Susan Boyle, Jon & Kate Gosselin, The Heene’s /Balloon Boy and lastly the White House crashing Salahi’s among others. The amount of media attention, breaking news, scandal and speculation for these far outweighed their significance. Among this group, only Susan Boyle is a good news story and actually had something positive to contribute to mankind. The others largely were seeking their own affirmation, status or wealth. Sadly, children and families have been hurt or put in tough situations by their parents need for something they lack.

What is about our society that makes this possible? Certainly the proliferation of media outlets and channels has created a vacuum for content – good or bad – that must be fed. The challenging times have made people seek out a change of pace from the bad news on the economy or political front. And unfortunately, the same human nature that won’t allow us to look away from a car wreck is at play here too.

Many of these ’brands’ have employed, knowingly or unknowingly, many marketing disciplines and methodologies in pursuit of their objective – fame and fortune. For the most part, they have focused on the awareness building and demand generation phases, with less thought on sustaining a loyal customer base. (In most cases, they get professional help from a lawyer and PR rep to help them commercialize on their success)

So as marketers, I believe that there are some very valid lessons to learn:

1. Hype and publicity stunts are merely a tactic, not a strategy.

2. Be certain that you truly have something to offer- a solid product, service or content is imperative for long term success.

3. The old axiom, “There is no such thing as bad publicity” doesn’t hold any longer.

4. Twitter and other social media enable you to lose control of your message very easily and quickly. Word of mouth is still the most powerful marketing force, regardless of how it is delivered.

5. Customer trial can be easy to obtain (promotion, discounting, etc.) but repeat purchase is where the real money is.

As I always advocate, all marketing activities require an objective, strategy plan and measurement system. Even if your goal is just to be on TV…

* Lyrics are from “Fame” written by John Winston Lennon, David Bowie and Carlos Alomar