Advertising Fuelosophy 101

16 Easy Word-of-Mouth Marketing Tactics

I came across a blog posting that had a list of 16 easy word-of-mouth marketing tactics and it has been tweeted many, many times but I felt it was worth posting here. In our current economic climate and the state of our state (Michigan), these tactics may be able to help a business generate some favorable word-of-mouth.

The tactics come from a book titled, Word-of-Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking and was written by Andy Sernovitz. It was originally published in 2006, but a revised edition has been recently published.

Personally, I have not read either book, so I can't offer comment, but here's the listing for your review:

1. Search the web for people talking about you.
2. Assign someone to join those conversations.
3. Create a blog.
4. Make a new rule: Ask “Is this buzzworthy?” in every meeting.
5. Come up with one buzzworthy topic. Keep it simple.
6. Put something on your front door (if you have one) that reminds people to tell their friends about you.
7. Let your “talkers” sign up for a private newsletter.
8. Pick one easy way to track word of mouth.
9. Put a “tell-a-friend” form on every page of your website.
10. Put a special offer in easily forwardable mail.
11. Add a small gift and a word of mouth tool to every package you sell.
12. Hire a private sale for your talkers.
13. Apologize for mistakes and solve problems fast.
14. Partner with a charity.
15. Do something unexpected.
16. Be nice.

I'm curious are there other tactics you have tried or do on a regular basis? Do you agree with these tactics? Do you have your own list? I would love to know what you think. That's my thought, what's yours?

Online Off-the-Rack: Zugara's Social Shopper App

I'm a big fan of online shopping. You can find anything at anytime. And more than likely, that thing is a bargain. The Internet is great for snagging books, cute tops or collector's items you're too embarrassed to purchase in person. But other items are risky business. Like jeans. Jeans are something I like to try on before buying. Only now with Zugara's Social Shopper, you can turn any room into a virtual dressing room!

I am truly wowed by this technology! Positively floored. Yet before I get too excited about it's retail marketing potential, I wonder does it really make sense? Maybe if you're a Colorform. Only real people have varied bulges and curves (or lack thereof). That's why people try clothing on: to determine how styles and cuts best fit their unique body. Zugara's Social Shopper doesn't live up to this reality.

What exactly is this person evaluating via her monitor? Does this denim wash work with my hair, my eyes? Do you really need augmented, utilitarian technology to formulate this? Speaking of augmented, does the virtual hourglass figure come with he tee shirt?

I think before making a serious investment into your website or shopping cart, you need to be sure that the "utility" bit is actually there. So that the experience you're creating is an experience worth having. Does it fit with basic human behavior? 

Mobile Marketing: A Best Practices Guide

I recently ran across an article with the title above and thought it would be good to pass along. It was written by Mike Wehrs, president/CEO of the Mobile Marketing Assocation. The Mobile Marketing Association is a nonprofit trade association dedicated to growing the mobile channel by establishing guidelines and best practices.

Here's a synopsis of the article:

1. Since the consumer is central to the mobile marketing experience the only way to ensure success as marketers is to build faith that this is a positive way to engage with their favorite brands.
2. Because mobile devices are so personal the marketing messages must engender trust. To engender trust, deliver messages that are positive, highly relevant and contain specific value.
3. The marketer needs to know how to develop a true dialogue of interaction with its customers.
4. Marketers must move away from traditional push (interruption-based) advertising and adopt the tenets of positive consumer experience.
5. The tenets of a positive consumer experience are as follows (according to Mobile Marketing Association's global code of conduct):
   1. Choice: consumers must opt in and make it easy to opt out if so desired.
   2. Control: consumers should have control of when and how they receive messages.
   3. Customization: any information provided by consumers is to personalize content.
   4. Consideration: offer value to consumers who allow you to communicate with them.
   5. Constraint: manage and limit communication.
   6. Confidentiality: don't share consumer information with non-affiliated third parties.

Wehr states "the ideal ambassadors for the mobile marketing cause are consumers ... brands should make sure their communications are interesting, relevant, valuable and, above all, requested."

In the end, I guess that is what we all want ... to be wanted! That's my thought, what's yours?

P.S. If you would like to read the article in its entirety, just click here.

Marketing Metric Alert! Introducing the iGRP

So this is exciting. YuMe and Mindshare haved teamed up to create a new metric for online video advertising that resembles the traditional GRP (Gross Rating Point) system used for television. They call it the iGRP, because a lowercase "i" in front of anything makes it forward-thinking and newsworthy.

But seriously, this is a big step in measuring  Web marketing initiatives, and one that's not so foreign since it's modeled on something marketers understand all too well: TV advertising. This will allow advertisers to compare their online video media buy with their television advertising buy, providing insight into the relative impact and success of one medium versus the other. The idea is to help marketers justify shifting more ad spend online and help buyers optimize plans that cut across media. 

The new iGRP metric accounts for frequency and reach, much like the traditional TV GRP, but the Internet version may account for target segment behaviors and mindset like never before based on the "interactivity factor." Online activity can be monitored a lot easier than what's actually going in in a household when the telly is on. There's a world of difference between clicking a mouse and clicking a remote. 

You can read the complete breakdown of the current iGRP formula by downloading the white paper at yume.com. Just keep in mind, this is still at the experimental stage.

The End of Advertising as We Know It ... Tell Me Something New Please!

The IBM Institute for Business Value originally published in September 2007 a research study titled, "The end of advertising as we know it." The summary stated "Traditional advertising players - broadcasters, distributors and advertising agencies – will need innovative new approaches to respond to major industry shifts underway." DUH.

The study was updated in March 2009 and here's the concluding statement to the research, "There is no question that the future of advertising will look radically different from its past. The push for control of attention, creativity, measurements and inventory will reshape the advertising value chain and shift the balance of power. For both incumbent and new players, it is imperative to plan for multiple consumer futures, craft agile strategies and build new capabilities before advertising as we know it disappears." DUH 2.

I'm sorry but the title is cliche, the content yesterday's news, and the direction seems like it could be regurgitated by any first year college student studying our industry. We all know the landscape is changing (not disappearing) and every day is a challenge to get a handle on the digital dilemma of consumers in control of brands. And as professionals in this industry this becomes our value ... helping clients navigate the loss of control and then embrace its power by nurturing zealots for the brand.

Hey, IBM if you published research that would help us understand the true nuances of the changing landscape in advertising and brand development versus broad statements from the negative side (of which we already know), I would be among the first to shout you out positively. Sorry, but that's my thought, what's yours?

Modista... A Glimpse Into The Future of Online Shopping?

I love watches, shoes and shades. I own many of each (although I lose more sunglasses than I keep). But shopping for any of these item online has never been all that much fun. See, the cool thing about shopping for shoes and watches especially is browsing them in the store. You spot something you like and you check it out more closely, and if it's not quite right, you browse similar looks,  colors and styles until you find the perfect match (for you).

Up until now, it hasn't been easy to shop that way online for things that you generally purchase based on visual appeal. It's more a process of finding something on a site, drilling down for pricing, views and more info, then going back to the beginning or "next" to find something else you might like better. Enter Modista.com.

Here's how it works in a nutshell. Let's say you're looking for a watch. Modista.com gives you a variety of product to look at as a starting point. You see one you like, click on it, and then the site almost instantly loads a bunch more eerily similar products. Heaven!  Hover over the product with your mouse and you get price info and a link to the site selling the product. Or click to get more details and views if you like.

My wife tried it with shoes and was instantly hooked.

In fact, in this Fortune magazine article on the subject, co-founder Arlo Faria says he actually got the idea one day watching his girlfriend shop online for shoes, "She found a pair of shoes she really liked, but she wanted another pair just like it, but cheaper. So she was clicking the NEXT button over and over -- for an hour."

The best way to experience Modista.com for yourself of course, is to go there and play. Even the folks at Zappos think it's a good idea. Check out how they're licensing the technology here.

Millions of people shop online everyday and are often frustrated by the process. But for those shopping for certain kinds of products where looks are important, Modista is a very promising new way to make their online experience much more pleasant.

Give it a whirl and let me know what you think. And if you end up buying something, blame them not me. 

Of course, the one thing we'll never be able to do is try those shoes on... or will we? Someone, somewhere is probably sitting in a dark basement figuring out how to make it happen.

Marketers Cry "Value," but is it Like Crying Wolf?

As marketers cry "value" in this new economy (a really nice way to say recession) I can't help but think is it like crying wolf where nothing really happened or changed, some one just says it did. I'm thinking out loud about "value" because over the past few months I've read several articles, blogs and opinions on the new economy  and the role "value" plays in it for the any type of marketer (consumer, b-to-b, etc.).

In my opinion there is one common thread to "value" ... no one can give a definitive definition. Yes, I just used redundancy in my last sentence, but I wanted to provide emphasis on the lack of clarity that exists in the marketing world when it comes to understanding value. In this new economy many companies are shouting to customers their value ... but is anything really different, has anything really changed ... is it really only crying wolf to gain attention. I offer the thought because I think many companies, even marketers, can't define "value." So how in the world can they communicate what they can't define.

In a recent blog post by Karlene Lukovitz, "Quality, Creativity, Trust Are Keys To 'New Normal'" she made the point "value is today's ubiquitous marketing cry, but pinning down what constitutes value from the consumer's perspective is the real challenge." In other words, how is "value" defined/perceived.

I doubt is there is going to be one right answer to the definition of "value" (ok, that means it's not definitive), but here's the breakdown we use to help frame the meaning of value for our clients:

1. It's an equation: value = (quality+quantity+type of service+familiarity) / price.
2. Value begins with quality: what is the customer getting from your company/product/service.
3. Value continues with quantity: how much is the customer getting.
4. Value grows with type of service: how easy, convenient, personal, responsible, reliable is your service to the customer; is it full service or self-service, minimal or intense, etc.
5. Value gains stature with familiarity: the more customers know you, the more customers trust you
6. Value ultimately reaches acceptance with price: is the price within the customer's expectations for the above and within their willingness to spend.

We became aware of this value equation due to our work within the restaurant industry. And it may be the standard for which many within the industry use to define and/or support their value to customers. From our experience if a restaurant can't methodically work through and identify each element in the equation, they don't have a good handle on their value perception in the market.

Finally this value equation can cross industries and we've applied its principles to other retail clients and even some of our business-to-business clients. Hopefully this is helpful in these days of crying value, just make sure it isn't wolf (customers today are just too smart). That's my thought, what's yours?

Hey Corporate World is Your Blog Trustworthy?

I recently read in a blog by Mark Walsh of Online Media Daily that Forrester Research released a study citing that only 16% of people surveyed say they trust corporate blogs. That makes them the lowest-rated source of reliable information among 18 categories Forrester asked about including Web portals, print newspapers, radio and personal blogs.

The report went on to say that the lack of credibility stems from corporate blogs' focus on self-promotion, pushing products and services at the expense of two-way communication with customers.Walsh characterized the corporate blog as the equivalent of a used car salesperson. And we all know the credibility and respect they garner. Ouch!

So what's a corporation to do? According to Josh Bernoff, a vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, "The blogs that people do trust are the ones where people say: 'Oh, but I don't think of it as a company blog.'"

After reading the blog by Walsh and the Forrester Report by Bernoff, here's my thoughts on how a corporation can use a blog effectively:

1. Just like in any marketing activity, make sure the blog has a plan with objectives and then stay the course.
2. Be committed to regular, timely postings (a once a month blog doesn't work).
3. Respond when spoken to; if someone takes the time to comment on the blog, make sure someone has the responsibility of responding back (it's called engagement, folks). And this is particularly important if the person is commenting about your service, product, thought leadership, etc.
4. Share the thought leadership; I think it is particularly engaging to visit a corporate blog and discover different people regularly share their thoughts/expertise for my benefit.
5. Be interesting, make connections, pass on information from other smart people; in other words become a hub of information that is related to and on strategy with the objectives set forth for the corporate blog (I always find the thread of information fascinating and it has been helpful in my own development in this industry).

Well, here's to making corporate blogs more trustworthy and maybe, just maybe, they can rise to the level of a politician (the second most least trusted profession) ... oh hasten the day. That's my thought, what's yours?

How will Online Advertising Fare in the Worst Advertising Recession since 2001?

Today reports were released by two advertising industry forecasters -- WPP's Group M and Publicis' ZenithOptimedia Group -- both predicting the growth and/or change in ad spending by medium in 2009 and beyond. The forecast from each group has one thing in common: online up, all others down. Is that a surprise to anyone? Surely not.

However, there may have been a bit of a surprise in the slowing of internet advertising. The rise in internet advertising was approximately 22% in 2008 and Group M thinks it will be 10% in 2009 while ZenithOptimedia thinks 18%. They also predict overall advertising spending (all media) is expected to decline 0.2% in 2009. The share of internet advertising continues to impress and its influence continues to grow. And if you look at the forecasts, I can only say -- sorry radio, sorry newspaper but the freefall continues for you.

No matter how you slice it a business has to develop an internet strategy and it applies to any size business -- small to mega and every size in-between. Every business (bar none) must navigate the opportunities using the internet, both efficiently and effectively (many a mistake has been made and a lot of advertising dollars wasted doing internet advertising poorly).

Now, if you are a smaller to medium sized business the good news is that the forecasts support my last two blogs, "Wake Up Small Business, It's Time to Connect" and the follow up, "If They Find You, What Do They Find." It's time to pay attention to your internet strategy -- it's really the great equalizer. That's my thought, what's yours?

Share Of Worldwide Ad Spending By Medium
	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Newspapers	27.1	25.4	23.8	22.3	21.2
Magazines	12.0	11.5	11.2	10.7	10.4
Television	37.3	38.0	38.3	38.5	38.5
Radio	8.0	7.6	7.1	6.9	6.7
Cinema	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.6	0.6
Outdoor	6.5	6.7	6.9	7.0	7.1
Internet	8.6	10.3	12.1	13.9	15.6
Source: ZenithOptimedia

If They Find You, What Do They Find?

In my last post, "Wake Up Small Business, It's Time to Connect" the premise was all about small business unleashing the power of the internet to its benefit. And at the end of the post, I made this simple comment, "what a small business should have in place once they find you." The point was and is that your website must first be found, but once found the question becomes what do they find.

In the early days of adoption by business, the website was really nothing more than an online brochure. It served no more purpose beyond, hey, let's get the company information out there in the vast unknown called cyberspace. Yeah, we all know there were serious limitations to style and presentation, but truth be told I really don't think many even thought about the potential value of a well-positioned, properly branded website. Instead, the charge became let's just get online. This approach has led me and other colleagues to wonder, "what were they thinking?" Opportunity lost. 

So you might be wondering, what does a well-positioned, properly branded website look like? In other words, they found you, and once there, what should they find.

First, we believe it starts with attitude ... an attitude that states, "my website is the center of my marketing universe." With this type of aspiration the website holds importance, always.

Second, the website must have value ... a value that remembers, "people need to engage with and experience my brand without ever stepping foot into my offline store or office." With this type of goal the website creates understanding, connection and best of all, fans.

Within these two umbrella principles the website must then continue to build your brand by incorporating the following:

1. Easy Functionality: users today want the ability to navigate and find information on your site without reading a book on how to do so.
2. Relevant Content: content is still king and it keeps users on the site and gives them a reason to return.
3. Interesting Involvement: offer the user something they want, find interesting, or can interact with while at your site.
4. Audience Understanding: it is important to understand your target audience/user by asking "why" are they here, "what" do they want and "how" should they feel.
5. Brand Cues: the design/layout, imagery, production value, etc. needs to enhance and support the key attributes of your brand.

Recently there was a study done by Forrester Research where they graded the sites of 20 top brands. Their research measured how well top brand's sites cater to user needs and how well they infuse their brand into the web experience. Amazingly, only one site (out of 20) managed to properly take their brand online. They even cited common elementary problems such as poor text legibility, confusing category names, and missing or buried content. They also stated the sites were guilty of poor design failing to support brand positioning.

In the explosion to internet presence many a company has failed to implement a website that supports and improves the brand experience. But the good news it's not too late. In fact, if you implement the principles outlined above, when they find you, they'll find a good brand done well online. And that's a competitive advantage because so few are doing it now ... Forrester Research thinks so too! That's my thought, what's yours?

Wake Up Small Business, It's Time to Connect.

I'm sure you've heard the cliches, "He who hesitates is lost" or  "Haste makes waste." These memorable, arguably over-used idioms remind us that change is an everyday part of life. In addition, I'm sure you've heard, big business changes slowly and not much, while the nimble, entrepreneurial small business can change quickly, efficiently, effectively.

Well, here's a shout out to big business -- you have trumped your little brothers and sisters -- and changed more quickly and adopted more thoroughly online marketing. In my head I'm visualizing a big 18-wheel truck making the turn quicker than my two-wheeled motorcycle. In the real world of driving, it can't be done, but it's happening in the very real world of marketing. Wake up small business!

For the small business, the internet actually gives you a level playing field to compete with big business. It's actually harder for big business to throw their weight around when it comes to internet marketing. How, you say? Think about this: everyone plays by the same rules, everyone can target very specifically, everyone answers to the same algorithms, there are no favorites and you get the same consideration as a big spender when your marketing is viewed.

Small business, it's time to embrace internet marketing. Your time has come to connect with your customers, because they are online in a huge way. And if you need a little convincing, here are some facts:

• 73.6% of Americans are internet users
• The average American visits 105 sites a month and views 2,372 pages
• The average American spends about 55 seconds on a page
• The average American spends almost 70 hours a month online
• 78 percent of adult online consumers made a purchase over the Web in the previous
  six months.

Now if you need a little more fuel to consider, contemplate these thoughts:

• Internet ad spending is projected to grow to $44.6 billion from some $36 billion, or a gain of 29.9% (compared with the projection, this summer of 28.6%). Moreover, internet’s share of ad spend is projected to increase from 8.1% to 9.4% in ‘08.

• “We predict internet advertising to pass three milestones over the next three years,” ZenithOptimedia is quoted as forecasting. “We expect it to overtake radio advertising in 2008; to attain a double-digit share of global advertising in 2009; and to overtake magazine advertising in 2010, with 11.5% of total ad spend.”

I could go on with more relevant statistics, but I'm hoping this is enough to get you thinking about the power and opportunity available to small business via the internet marketing channel. The ability to connect to customers (whether it's business-to-consumer or business-to-business) is immense and relatively untapped for the the small business.

Finally, keep in mind finding you is part one which needs to be followed by part two: engaging with what they find. And I'll share my thoughts on what a small business should have in place once they find you on my next blog. Well, that's my thought, what's yours?

The Future of Advertising Agencies -- Are You Faux Real?

I've been thinking about the business of advertising for quite some time and as a company we've been in transition for a few of years. And judging by the amount of blogging, postings, articles it seems that more and more people in and out of our business think the agency model is in serious trouble, and some think very broke ... perhaps beyond repair.

The pressure to change is coming from many sides ... consumers, clients, competition from companies that used to be our partners/vendors and, most importantly, the new landscape of marketing. It seems advertising agencies and marketing firms of all iterations are being boxed in from many sides. The result has been a mad scramble to react and, in my humble opinion, what we are getting is the the new "faux" agency. It's an agency that looks real and talks real, but peel back the layers of real and you find "faux."

It's the advertising agencies who have been doing branding, advertising, media and more since before the days of Mad Men suddenly becoming digital marketing experts, yet executing digital, like always, push content and forget about engagement. And then you have the digital marketing agencies suddenly becoming advertising and branding experts, yet they approach building a brand just like it's another technology void of passion.

In all reality, the ad folks know how to build a brand, but really don't understand how to execute an effective digital strategy for that brand. Then, the digital folks know how to execute technology, but really don't understand how to build a brand. The result ... confusion. And the real quandary is the clients. Whom do I choose?

Think about it, we have seasoned ad people, who have successfully built brands from the ground up who spew, even as an afterthought, the tenets of their craft. Yet talk widget, wiki, mobile, social, ppc, blog and the thinking becomes cursory. Then the whiz kids of digital can execute beautifully your online presence with the widget, wiki, mobile, social, ppc and blog. But when you ask them how to build a brand online, it doesn't go much beyond programming 101.

Now, we all know, we have this problem, but what do we do about it? Again, in my opinion, we all become real and sell ourselves as we really are ... no faux agencies.

I must be truthful, because at one time, I believe we were faux. We stumbled digitally. But we kept picking ourselves up and learned through the fire how to merge our branding expertise with digital expertise. How did we do it?

1. We did a deep dive into the world of digital education and we came to the understanding we can know much, experience much but true expertise comes through time and execution. This realization said, things are changing exponentially and clients need help now, not later.
2. We actively solicited and developed relationships with digital experts. We developed a resource base that gives everyone value. And we're committed to each others success. No longer are we competitors, we are now collaborators.
3. We peel back the layers of reality for our clients. We don't try to mask our relationships, we expose them. We tell our clients and future clients, we are a team that brings the best of both worlds (branding and digital) together.

In our approach, we are learning much from our digital team on how to take the confusion out of digital execution to build a company's brand online. In turn, our digital team is learning much from us when it comes to building a brand. It ain't "faux" no "mo" (sorry couldn't help myself). Everyone wins ... especially the client. That's my thought, what's yours.

What to do with the "R" Word?

Unless you've been in a cave or bunker somewhere without the modern conveniences of television, radio or newspapers, we're hearing pundits and economists saying the dreaded "R" word. Could it be a recession is upon us? Even as I write this blog the weather is ugly, gray and it's raining. It seems to fit the economic climate and mood of Main Street (as both the candidates for president like to say).

The response to our current economic climate is all too evident everywhere I'm turning lately. People are hunkering down and scaling back. It was very clear last night as I attended a fund raising event for a cause called, Pathway Family Center (they exist to help youth and families overcome teen substance abuse and behavioral issues). It was during the live auction that an autographed jersey from the same famous athlete sold for less than half of what it sold at last years fund raiser. It seemed that this restrained mentality happened over and over during the auction. For me, this was a microcosm of people's attitude and response.

This got me to wonder, is a "hunkering down" philosophy good for a business? It seems that many companies are responding in a like manner by becoming more conservative.

If you ask, Gary Lilien, professor of management science at Penn State, what a company should do during a recession, his answer would be "one of the things we say in our research is that when times get hard, that's a very good time to attack if you're strong." Lilien co-authored a 2005 study about proactive marketing during a recession. It was published in the International Journal for Research in Marketing.

The findings of Lilien's research highlighted three key qualities that are necessary to market proactively during a recession: the will, the skill, and the till. The will is the ability to resist the instinct to conserve; the skill is having a well-established and inventive marketing department (or let's say a partner like Fresh Fuel :-)); the till is to have company coffers ample enough to weather the tough times and increase the company's marketing at the same time. He emphasizes that not all companies will or should step up marketing during a recession; those that don't have the above three qualities are likely to actually lose more than they gain.

The research once again supports that the strategically-creative (skill) who take the opportunity (will) to be more aggressive (till) gain marketshare from competitors when the economy turns. I don't know about you, but I like this thought, now what's yours.

Here's One Toilet That'll Make You Think Twice About Drinking And Driving.

Saw this over at adverbox, a great place to see great ads from around the world. This one from Johannesberg makes its point quite well to captive audiences.