Vancouver Marketing Consultant Andrea Coutu's Blog

Andrea Coutu has rebranded as Trustmode Marketing

General

2009-08-13 21:15:56

As of August 2009, I've rebranded as Trustmode Marketing. My new corporate identity better reflects the growth my business has seen in recent years. While I remain the principal consultant, I'm no longer the only person working on projects and it makes sense to take my name out of the business. Moreover, my new firm's offerings better meet the needs of businesses of all sizes. Shift your marketing into Trustmode at www.trustmode.com.

(c) 2009 by Trustmode Marketing - your Vancouver marketing consultant team. All rights reserved.
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Marketing at the door

General Marketing

2009-03-08 14:08:32

This morning, I was out running errands. I decided to stop by a new store I'd been meaning to check out. I had a very specific purchase in mind and I was ready to hand over about $150 if they could meet my needs. I could see that the lights were on, so I pulled over and paid for parking. When I got to the store, the door was locked. There was no sign to tell me if the store would be open later that day or at any point in the future. There wasn't a phone number either. And there was no website listed -- no mention of whether I might be able to complete my purchase online.

Sure, perhaps I have high hopes in expecting a store to be open in a busy downtown retail area at 11 am on a Sunday. However, the store's owners are missing a huge opportunity to help me come back to make a purchase. By neglecting to tell a potential customer how to make a purchase -- that is, what hours the store is open -- they missed a fantastic opportunity to entice me back. Unfortunately for them, I don't feel like forking over a directory service fee to find out their phone number and then follow up during (you guessed it) store hours to find out when they're open.

Are you remembering the little details in your marketing?

Social media - how much time to spend on it?

General

2009-02-24 14:04:38

Social media has come a long way since I first blogged about social networking in 2004. Recently I've been considering how much time to spend marketing on social media sites, especially now that they're becoming popular.

I've noticed that some of my peers spend hours keeping various social media communities apprised of business news. But sometimes I wonder whether this is an efficient use of time. I'm on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, among other sites, but I've limited how much time I spend keeping my followers and friends up to date.

I'm a busy business owner and I have a life. When I'm at my computer I'm either working on a contract or building my business. When I consider my business goals, I know that spending hours on social media sites is not an efficient use of my limited spare time.

How much time to dedicate to social media depends on your goals and your target market. Visualize your marketing pipeline. How do you find your best clients? What's your ultimate goal? How can you turn clients into repeat clients? How much is your time worth?

Once you have clear answers to these questions, put a marketing system in place that will turn leads into clients and clients into repeat clients. Depending on your niche and target market, your marketing system may very well include social media--you may even rely heavily on it. But, for some organizations, contributing daily to social media may not be an effective use of time. Time, after all, is money.

By all means, be visible on social media and check in on occasion. Where possible, investigate using automated tools that will automatically keep your followers apprised of new blog posts and events. But before dedicating more than an hour per week on social media, consider your marketing goals as a whole and evaluate where social media fits into your overall strategy.

H&M "nurse in" - a marketing view

General

2008-08-07 15:19:42

Today, I showed up at the H&M nurse in, a peaceful event designed to draw awareness to the status of breastfeeding as a human right in BC. At least 100 people attended the event.

H&M said nothing. No PR person greeted the crowd. Store staff only came by to ask that no photos be taken. Of course, in this day and age, no one listened. The attendees had camera phones, digital cameras, video cameras, key chain cameras -- and the media had photography equipment too. I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding from days spent in journalism class is that, if someone asks you not to take photos on private property and you continue to do so, they can ask you to leave and then charge you with trespassing. I'm not aware of H&M asking anyone to leave.

H&M treated the "nurse in" as a non-event. A few news stories have quoted H&M's Toronto head office. Head office says that they allow public breastfeeding and that they will embark on an employee education campaign.

Why ignore the protest? By allowing people to exercise their legal right to nurse in the store, H&M refused to get into a bigger war. They're trying hard to diffuse the situation. And, really, the people at the protest were hardly screaming. It was about education and awareness. From a marketing perspective, H&M did the right thing. They knew they couldn't ban people from entering the store or breastfeeding. So, by refusing to fight, they probably put themselves in the best possible situation, given the circumstances.

Moreover, the event may have actually helped H&M. Several attendees said they'd never been in an H&M before. Many people with whom I talked said they didn't know H&M had a downtown Vancouver location. And, although some people may boycott the store, it's actually somewhere that some moms will now head -- you can bet H&M is never going to ask a nursing mom to hide in a change room again. The chain may very well emerge as a place you can be sure of your rights. We'll see.

Constant Contact spamming Google?

General Marketing

2008-01-24 19:23:31

Constant Contact, an online campaign management service company, may be ~~spamming Google~~ "obviously actively trying to own rankings for their name", according to Darren Barefoot. Apparently, Constant Contact has set up several domains to redirect to their site. Is this spamming? Should it be considered spamming? The challenge is that Constant Contact may argue that people legitimately enter those URLs. I wouldn't try setting up several domains like that, but I can see how their IT or marketing teams could make a case for "legitimately" having several URLs.

Handvertising -- advertising on hands

General Marketing

2007-10-23 14:25:51

Via my inbox, I received a news release on something called "handvertising". According to HandvertisingUSA:

Handvertising USA is transforming the way advertisers are looking at your skin, more specifically your hands. "Almost everyone has been to a county fair, swap meet, bar or club and had had their hand stamped for proof of entry. We have found a better use for this space that could make everyone happy" said Mike Brown, CEO of the company.

From generating awareness to drumming up business by offering discounts, companies can use advertising on skin to drum up support, according to Brown.

It sounds like a bizarre idea to me. But, in a world where young people no longer listen to the radio, watch TV in real time or take part in mass media, this sort of marketing may just work. It's the reason that ambush marketing and stealth marketing have become tactics of choice for advertisers targeting youth.

Marketing consultant -become a consultant

General Marketing

2007-05-06 18:44:56

Become a marketing consultant -- if you're interested in becoming a marketing consultant, I'd like to refer you to my Become a Consultant blog at Consultant Journal. I'm inundated with requests for advice from people who want to become marketing consultants. Because I don't have time to provide individual responses, I decided to share my knowledge via a blog. Feel free to get involved by leaving comments on the Consultant Journal site.

Soapopular doesn't want me to buy Soapopular soap

General

2007-03-12 19:33:57

Almost two months ago, a neighbour showed me her Soapopular foaming hand sanitizer, which is alcohol-free. She told me she had bought the Soapopular soap at Shoppers Drug Mart. I trekked to three or four Shoppers stores, as well as a few other department stores, but couldn't find the product. The Soapopular website's front page clearly notes that the product is available at Shoppers.

So I emailed Soapopular. After about a month (!), I received a very brief email telling me I could buy the product at Zellers. Since the nearest Zellers is a long way from my home (and not on my usual list of stores to visit), I emailed back and asked if it was available at any other stores.

I've heard nothing and it's been a week or two.

This kind of response to a customer inquiry is appalling. I took the time to go to several stores, visit their expensive website, and send an email. At this point, Soapopular should be so keen to get my business that they send a free sample! I mean, how many leads are this hot?

But, nope, Soapopular gets it all wrong. They ignore me. They don't value my business and obviously don't understand the value of a lead or word-of-mouth referrals. And, unfortunately for Soapopular, I'm now expressing my dissatisfaction in a public forum.

If you're going to spend the money to develop and market a consumer product, take the time to treat customer inquiries seriously. Otherwise, don't even try.

Want some free advice?

General

2007-02-16 02:21:12

I get a ton of emails from students and new consultants who want to know if I can help them become a marketing consultant. Some people even work in other fields, like graphic design or even IT consulting. I do not have time to respond to these requests. However, I do run Become a Consultant Blog at ConsultantJournal.com. That site has tons of free information about consulting.

BC Place roof collapses for second time

General

2007-01-05 18:11:10

BC Place's roof has collapsed for a second time. Back in the 1980s, the host of a CBC TV show called Switchback caused a bit of an uproar when he showed footage of the domed roof deflating. Of course, it was later revealed that Switchback was playing the inflation of the dome backwards. Nice hoax. But, this time around, it would be pretty tough to fake a big tear in the roof

Guy's night out

General

2006-12-05 18:41:14

While shopping at Park Royal Village this weekend, I noticed that Lulu Lemon was advertising a "guys' shopping night". Snacks, sports, drinks and gift wrapping. It sounds like a great way to lure guys into a small shop full of spandex-like clothing -- somewhere you wouldn't normally find men. Clever target marketing.

Interested in consulting?

General

2006-11-20 00:51:38

Every week, I receive emails from people who want to become consultants. They often ask to meet with me so that they can learn about the success I've had as an independent consultant. Because of my success -- on both the business and family front -- I don't have time to meet with people any more. However, I believe in sharing my knowledge with the community. So I created ConsultantJournal.com. If you want to learn how to become a consultant, check it out.

Vancouver cafe understands marketing

General

2006-10-27 17:10:28

The Blue Edge Organic Cafe in Coal Harbour really understands marketing. The Blue Edge has a good understanding of its target market and has created a whole product to meet the needs of that market.

Situated at the foot of Nicola Street, adjacent to the Coal Harbour Community Centre, the cafe has stunning views of the marina and mountains. It also showcases local art works. But the most noticeable thing about the Blue Edge Cafe is its child-friendly atmosphere. The Cafe's owners obviously recognize the draw of the community centre. Parents and tots attend parent-infant drop-ins, toddler playtimes, kids' activities and other family activities. With the Blue Edge Cafe just next-door, it's obvious where coffee-starved moms are going to head. So the cafe has several high chairs, a kids' menu and an expansive play area, complete with toys and a toddler-sized table. With these features, the Cafe doesn't need to do much to advertise. Parents inevitably tell other parents about the wonders of the cafe.

It's interesting that other downtown cafes and restaurants haven't caught-on. Earls recently went to the media to say that kids aren't welcome in their restaurants. But why don't more restaurants target families? With three schools packed to capacity and a fourth due to open in the next couple of years, the downtown peninsula could accommodate a few more kid-friendly restaurants. Perhaps a few more shops and restaurants will re-evaluate their strategies. Not every restaurant or cafe need welcome kids and their parents, but you'd think a few could see the strategic value in it.

Ads on this blog

General

2006-10-26 01:37:54

After much debate, I've decided to introduce ads on this blog. The content of this blog falls outside that of my general marketing consulting site. Most of the people reading it are interested in the blog content, as opposed to marketing consulting services. So I see this as separate from the rest of the website. Moreover, with the thousands and thousands of visits I'm receiving, it makes sense to offset some of the costs. That being said, if you read my blog posts on the main Vancouver Marketing Consulting Blog page or scroll through my full blog, you won't see ads. You'll only see them if you visit the page for an individual article (such as this one). That way, most of the people seeing ads are people coming in through search engines, not regular readers.

Don't forget your name

General

2006-10-26 01:33:23

Today, I was in a mall. Someone had put up a new poster, outlining the many dishes available at a new restaurant. The poster included pictures of all the foods, along with prices. But there was no restaurant name or any suggestion of where one could partake of these delicacies! Make sure you include your business name and other important details in your promotions. Stealth marketing has its merits, but I don't think that's quite the same thing.

Marketing Headhunter Blog

General

2006-09-16 01:40:46

While cruising the web today, I found Marketing Headhunter Blog. Regardless of whether you're looking for a job in marketing or not, the site has a lot of industry news and tips that can help you build your marketing career.

Back in action

General

2006-09-16 01:39:25

After a hiatus that was far too long, I'm back at blogging again. I'll be updating this site on a more regular basis, although not quite as often as I was before my injury.

Slow down in posting frequency

General

2006-05-29 23:43:05

Just a quick note to say that I'll be posting less frequently than normal for the next little while, due to an injury. I had to decide between continuing with my marketing consulting for Vancouver and blogging for the world.

Vancouver's Robson|Granville Future Shop billboard

General Marketing

2006-05-23 00:57:21

Have you seen the new digital billboards in Vancouver on the Future Shop building at Robson and Granville? The City of Vancouver changed the billboard bylaw about two years ago, allowing digital billboards in Vancouver. Vancouver's no Times Square, but these new billboards may mark a shift in the way Vancouverites receive marketing messages.

Paul McCartney -- When I'm 64 Divorce

General

2006-05-17 23:29:07

Paul McCartney and Heather Mills have called it quits. But what interests me isn't the divorce or the personal lives of these heavily marketed celebrities. I'm shocked that the media hasn't sold the When I'm 64 angle:

Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm sixty four?

McCartney turns 64 a month from tomorrow.

Buffett calls housing bubble

General

2006-05-07 20:59:09

Are we in a housing bubble"? Warren Buffett has called a housing bubble. Speaking at the 2006 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, Buffet said:

"What we see in our residential brokerage business ... is a slowdown everyplace, most dramatically in the formerly hottest markets....The day traders of the Internet moved into trading condos...We've had a real bubble to some degree. I would be surprised if there aren't some significant downward adjustments, especially in the higher end of the housing market."

Vancouver Housing Market Blog is a Vancouver blog that has been talking about a housing bubble for months. I could be wrong, but I think the $600 per square foot prices at the W are a sign that something's wrong. Who's going to pay $3000 a month to rent a 2BR on East Hastings? A lot of people want to escape suburbia, but they can do that for $1500 over in the West End or even Yaletown.

Reader's Digest decoder card

General

2006-05-05 00:17:25

Do you have a Reader's Digest decoder card? I just received an email from someone who needs one for a scavenger hunt. I received one a few months ago as part of a direct mail campaign. Unfortunately, I recycled it a few days ago. If you have one, please let me know and I'll pass along your details. The scavenger hunt supports a deserving Vancouver charity.

Bodybreak's Hal Johnson & Joanne McLeod vs Dr Phil

General Marketing

2006-05-03 01:08:56

Is anyone as annoying as Dr. Phil and his wife Robin? Apparently the Body Break couple could use a break. "Canada's answer to Dr. Phil would have to be Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod," writes Shannon McKinnon in the Williams Lake Tribune (Google cache of Bodybreak article.)

McKinnon accuses the Bodybreak duo -- Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod -- of "popping up, uninvited, to interrupt our otherwise perfectly slothful evenings".Give us a break from Bodybreak, pleads McKinnon. "I watch them to see if they're getting fat...What would happen if they did let themselves go? Say Joanne put on a couple hundred pounds and Hal turned into an alcoholic?...I think I would like them better."

Could the Bodybreak couple be teetering on marketing disaster, about to suffer the fate of Canadian Tire Guy? As the Most Irritating Canadian, Canadian Tire Guy has suffered the fate of a cancelled campaign. But I doubt we'll see the Bodybreak marketing dynasty fade away anytime soon. They've built an empire since their Participaction funding first arrived -- they've branded everything from food to treadmills. And they've surely fine-tuned their grant-writing proposals and government negotiation skills. Johnson and McLeod are here to stay, assuming they don't start chowing down on cheeseburgers!

Canada wordmark and trademark protection

General

2006-04-27 00:34:41

Canada's wordmark needs protection, according to the Treasury Board of Canada. The Treasury Board works hard at protecting trademarks of Canada. As I've mentioned before, trademark owners need to protect their intellectual property.

The Government of Canada is no different from any other trademark owner. The Canada wordmark conveys a trusted brand. If the government were to allow just anyone to use or compromise that image, the Canada brand would suffer. It's similar to the Olympic trademark issues faced by the Vancouver Olympic Committee.

Canada is pretty clear about its trademark guidelines, having produced a full manual, policy and other materials. When I worked for Citizenship and Immigration's Communications Branch, an in-house graphic designer gave me a full briefing on use of the Crown's marks. Signs, stationery, marketing materials -- the government has a policy for everything.

But it's not just the government that comes up with intellectual property guidelines. Most of the mid-sized firms for which I've worked have had trademark and logo usage guidelines -- and I've been charged with managing those properties. You'd think managing a logo is easy, but it's always a challenge to keep people from making small changes that add up. For example, your corporate trainer may add a graduation cap to the mascot in your corporate logo. The trainer passes this logo to the technical writer, who adds a shield and a witty slogan. Although it's great to see people taking ownership of the corporate image, it's important to standardize and, above all else, protect those assets so that they can stand up in any legal disputes with external users of your logo. It comes down to finesse and communication, all in the name of trademark protection.

Toni Onley's house for sale

General

2006-04-22 01:41:16

The house of the late Toni Onley is on the market...and real estate agents are trumpeting the connection to Toni Onley. Onley's house listing (V583367) on MLS and other sites makes the connection clear.

At first glance, it might seem tacky to mention the artist so blatantly. But a closer look at the beautiful home makes it easy to see how it would have inspired Onley. I think the home has probably been staged to make the furnishings a bit less intimate. Still, the kind of buyer who feels a connection to Onley's art probably would see this as a true home and not as mere investment..perhaps pumping up the value of the home, in a roundabout way.

Olympia Restaurant Vancouverâ€™s trademark dispute

General Marketing

2006-04-17 21:08:17

Olympia Restaurant is embroiled in a trademark battle with the Vancouver Olympic Committee. Olympia Restaurantâ€™s sign and logo use flames, rings and a torch, elements that also appearch in trademarks of the Olympics.

The Canadian Olympic Committee has trademarks going back several years -- 1985, 1995, and so on. For 20 years, the Olympic Committee has had a trademark on the Olympic torch. When I did a search before (having now forgotten the parameters), I was able to dig up trademark materials from the early 1970s.

I am not a lawyer. But it seems to me that Olympia Restaurant is in the wrong. The petition from Olympia Restaurant suggests that VANOC wants the eatery to discontinue use of the flames, rings and torch because:

the public will be led to believe that the Olympia's services have been endorsed by the COC or are somehow connected to the 2010 winter games.

As a trademark owner, VANOC must protect the assets of the Olympic Games Association. I discussed the reasons for protecting your trademarks in a previous post. VANOC has no choice but to enforce its intellectual property rights.

Again, Iâ€™m not a lawyer. But I think Olympia Restaurantâ€™s owners know theyâ€™re wrong. For them, the trademark dispute may pose an opportunity to gain media exposure. Just look at all the Olympia Restaurant press. Forget the cost of winning a legal battle â€“ no small restaurant could afford to buy that media coverage. The media (and the public) loves stories about underdogs. Expect to hear more about Olympia Restaurantâ€™s logo battles as we approach 2010.

VANOC and ambush marketing

What is Viral Marketing and the Barcadi Liver Ad

General

2006-04-15 03:18:17

What is Viral Marketing? Viral marketing is what marketers use to gain publicity through existing social networks. Achieved through word-of-mouth contact, viral marketing spreads quickly -- like a virus.

Right now, Bacardi Live Radio is hot on the viral marketing scene, as rum and music fans forward news of the site to one another. Cool idea, but bad name. I saw "Barcadi Liver Ad" until I got to the I in the URL.

My Previous Viral Marketing Posts

I Listen to Jack FM - Viral Marketing or Not

Starbucks Coffee Cup Viral Marketing

Bumvertising Viral Marketing

Pokerfacebook Viral Marketing

Beware the Heat Viral Marketing

Subversive Marketing

Business Trends for 2005

Hockey Strikes Sends Advertisers Scrambling

Vancouver Olympics Ambush Marketing

Moolatte

Breakeven calculators

Strategy

2006-04-12 00:09:56

Knowing your breakeven point can help you set a price for your products. This breakeven calculator from Case Western University simplifies the process -- just enter costs, quantities and prices and let the online calculator do the work for you.

Funny catalog copy

General Marketing

2006-04-11 01:22:15

Bowls for dieters seem like a pretty good idea. Studio Panepinto has some cool bowls for sale. The portion-specific dishes usually come as a set, but you can also buy them as singles. I got a chuckle out of the caption, though:

"Singles come in sets of two."

Vancouver marketing and communication

General Marketing

2006-04-09 22:20:21

In Vancouver, several companies offer marketing and communications services. Upon closer examination, these companies turn out to be advertising, PR, graphic design, web or copywriting firms. And that's great if you're looking for a communications company. But marketing means more than just marketing communications. True marketing involves connecting buyers to sellers. Yet, because of their specific expertise and positioning, many "marketing companies" push customers to put together ads, brochures, websites, press releases and other promotional materials -- before they even have their marketing in order.

As I say on my website, most marketers are skewed toward communications and sales. And sales and communications are important parts of the marketing mix. If you've covered your 4P's -- product, price, promotions and place -- then it's okay to start working with a communications company. Unfortunately, a lot of companies start up and hire a graphic design firm, ad agency or direct mail outfit right away. This is often because there's a push to show senior management that marketing dollars are going to something tangible.

But those marketing dollars should be going to support a sustainable return on investment, based on developing profitable relationships with the right customers. Having a great-looking direct mailer, brochure or website won't save you if you're going after the wrong customers.

For example, a few years ago, I worked with a company that had ear-marked $100,000 for marketing. The company was spending a fortune on mailing brochures to healthcare professionals. But when I examined their marketing needs, I determined that most buying decisions in this industry were made by people in another department. And, more importantly, those buyers worked with big medical sales agents, which could offer a wide variety of products. Drawing from my experience with the full marketing mix, I worked out a marketing plan to help the company distribute its products through sales agents, develop programs to help hospital buyers make decisions, and come up with marketing campaigns that would lead healthcare professionals to influence those hospital buyers. Today, the company sells a huge proportion of its products through sales agencies.

Numeracy and a business-oriented approach help too. One company asked me to help them with their direct mail campaigns. I pointed out that, because their graphic designer had opted for heavy "durable" card stock for the one-page product sheets, it was costing up to $7 to send a set of product sheets to prospective clients. By changing the product sheets and opting for new stock, I helped the company free up money for value-added marketing activities.

Marketing and communication companies can play an important role in bringing your products and services to market. But, before you sign a contract, consider whether your full marketing needs are being met. You should be opting for value-added marketing decisions that help you achieve a positive ROI -- not just producing brochures and websites, so it looks like you're getting something done.

Consultant Email Marketing Vancouver Advice

General Marketing

2006-04-09 21:26:31

Ideas for email marketing from a Vancouver marketing consultant.

Email marketing tips can help your marketing programs stand out. People like to buy from people they know, like and trust. The trick with email marketing is to make your marketing campaign work hard to build the tenets of that relationship.

To build credibility through copywriting, marketers use several techniques:

Straight-forward language â€“ tell it like it is. People donâ€™t trust jargon.

Back up your points. Link your companyâ€™s accomplishments to its promises.

Note awards, ratings, rankings and press on your company. Trusted third parties do more to build your credibility than your own statements ever can.

Provide testimonials from your customers, partners and the media. People are more likely to trust you if other people are willing to put their name beside yours.

Show your track record. Tell people how many customers and products you have. Note how many years youâ€™ve been in business.

Tie in internal statistics. If you still have your first customer, still sell your original product, or just signed your 5000th customer, let people know.

Next time, Iâ€™ll point out how marketers build credibility through graphic design.

Marketing and Direct Mail Articles

How to send email without spamming

Tell me, donâ€™t sell me: consumers hate marketing

Marketing means more than marketing communications

To market a product, build the product

Distribution key to marketing success

Pushing buttons in the buyer's brain

Measuring the value of marketing

Vancouver direct mail example

Marketing Resources

My marketing services and qualifications.

Before & After Model Magazine Retouch

General Marketing

2006-03-31 01:05:11

Magazine photos of models retouched in Photoshop -- maybe you've heard of them. Via Lisa Manfield, my long-time client, comes this before and after reveal of a mock magazine cover.

I asked her about the reveal. "I think it's great that someone has taken the time to really showcase what goes on behind the lens in magazine photo retouching," says Manfield. "Too many people take what they see on magazine covers at face value, and it helps to see what the reality truly is." Manfield is the vice-president of the BC Association of Magazine Publishers, former editor of Realm Magazine, and a contributing editor to Backbone Magazine.

As for me, magazine photo retouching is old news. My university textbooks had examples and I certainly saw some clever edits when I worked in publishing. And the Jamie Lee Curtis spread from a few years ago was interesting. But this is the first time I've seen a step-by-step account on the web. If you've seen other examples, let me know.

Consultant blog provides business boost

Technology Adoption

2006-03-28 22:51:11

Consultants have much to gain from blogging for business. Calgary's Rhona-Mae Arca is a great example. After much encouragement (nagging) from me, Arca added a blog to the website for her music consulting business, Musespeak.

Six months later, she's increased her website traffic -- "I had to upgrade my web hosting program for more bandwidth!" She's also achieved first-place and top five listings for targeted keywords in search engines. She adds that the blog forces her to write regularly -- "and gives me something to look forward to doing, unlike bookkeeping." She adds that writing a regular blog "keeps me on my toes", since she has to stay on top of developments in her field.

You might not think of piano teachers as being first movers when it comes to technology. But Arca is proof that using a blog to help support and implement your marketing strategy can deliver real business rewards. I, too, was skeptical about business blogs once upon a time, but fortunately changed my mind.

Wal-Mart Brady Bunch Ad Jingle

General Marketing

2006-03-27 02:03:05

Brady Bunch - Wal-Mart commercial song. Wal-Mart's got a new TV ad series that features a cover of the hit 70s "Time to Change" song by the Brady Brunch. If you've long forgotten the song that launched the Brady Six to stardom, here's a refresher from the chorus:

When it's time to change (when it's time to change),
Don't fight the tide, go along for the ride,
Don't ya see.
When it's time to change, you've got to rearrange,
Who you are and what you're gonna be.
Sha na na na na na na na na
Sha na na na na.
Sha na na na na na na na na na
Sha na na na na

You can listen to a sample here. Inspired by the success of the Partridge Family and other real family supergroups, the Brady Brunch's producers hatched a plan to launch "Greg" as a teen idol backed by the Brady Six. I vaguely recall Greg was known as Johnny Bravo, but I'm reaching waaaay back here.

So what's the deal with Wal-Mart? Why the Brady song? Well, the song dates back to the early 1970s and the Brady Brunch is a Generation X favourite. If you were six in 1972, then you're about the right age to have a six-year-old of your own. If you're a little younger than that, you may have fond memories of re-runs. If you're a little older than that, you were a teen during the Brady Bunch's heyday and you probably have a teen. So you may associate the song with memories of your own childhood. If your child is the same age as you were back then, it's easier to associate them with the song...and find yourself shopping at Wal-Mart. The song brings the "Every boy's a man inside, / A girl a woman too" lines to life, since those young Brady Bunch watchers grew up.

But the ad should resonate with younger viewers, too. If you're an American kid, you probably watch re-runs of the Brady Bunch on Nick at Night, so you might be more willing to put up with your mom's "sha na na na na na". You might have seen one of the Brady Bunch movies on TV, underscoring the "Time to Change" episode where Peter's voice broke during the recording. So now you can bond with your parents over a cheesy jingle.

But will it work? Well, I don't live near a Wal-Mart. But I do seem to have great recall of the ad and all its implications. I imagine it's creating some goodwill for the brand. And Wal-Mart's going organic, so the fresh-faced 70s retro image works.

Alexander Keith's beer character arrested

General Marketing

2006-03-13 01:32:07

The man who plays the mutton-chopped, ale-obsessed Scot in the Alexander Keith's beer commercials has been arrested on charges of child pornography. Robert Norman Smith was allegedly caught in an undercover police sting involving people who were downloading child pornography from the Internet.

The accused is innocent until proven guilty. However, Keith's parent company, Labbatt's, has severed ties with the actor and pulled its media spots. This underscores the challenges of creating a strong brand affiliation via an advertising character. Although an advertising character can lend a human element to the brand, it also ties the brand to that human. When that character makes human mistakes, the brand can suffer. In some cases, this forces a company to abandon its advertising campaigns. In recent times, we've seen companies dump the Dell dude, Kate Moss, and other actors. But Ronald McDonald and Mr. Clean live on. It helps to have a character that seems human without truly being human. No one would recognize Ronald McDonald without his make-up. And Mr. Clean probably sports a full head of hair. But, more than anything, luck helps. And, fortunately for most companies, most people -- whether advertising characters or not -- tend to stay out of major trouble. But, nevertheless, companies need to be certain they can weather the storm of criminal allegations. Advertising and branding are tremendous investments that can fall apart in an instant.

Canadian Tire Guy's divorce and forced retirement

General Marketing

2006-03-09 15:34:18

The Canadian Tire Guy is gone. Canadian Tire has dropped him their campaigns. According to the Globe, the Canadian Tire Guy -- Ted -- and his wife -- Gloria -- will no longer show up in ads. Am I the only one who didn't know these characters had names?

As regular readers know, I've written about the Canadian Tire Guy's secret life, tendency to annoy me, and role as an irritating Canadian. In fact, "Canadian Tire Guy" is one of the top searches that lands people on my site. Well, woe is me, the Canadian Tire Guy is no more. Canadian Tire says the ads were wearing on viewers.

But what became of Canadian Tire Guy and Gloria? I suspect it was their Canadian Tire addiction that led to their demise. I mean, how could any couple survive with those kinds of credit card bills? Not to mention that they never discussed purchases. Ted was always surprising Gloria with his latest tent, Mastercraft flashlight or generator. In turn, Gloria always had some Motomaster gadget hiding in a closet. Those sorts of secrets and financial pressures likely led to a divorce. Or maybe they simply disappeared after declaring bankruptcy. One has to wonder. Although Scrooge and Santa seem to work well together, it's far more difficult when you both spend like Santa.

Coal Harbour Community Centre

General Marketing

2006-03-08 15:06:18

Coal Harbour Community Centre recently merged its website with Vancouverâ€™s West End Community Centre and Barclay Manor. Up till the merger, you could find the Coal Harbour Community Centre simplying by searching for "Coal Harbour" in Google. Now it only comes up if you search for "Coal Harbour Community" or "Coal Harbour Community Centre" â€“ and itâ€™s buried under a site called "West End Community". Over at Yahoo, even â€œCoal Harbour Community Centreâ€? returns a page for "West End CC", which most people would not recognize as affiliated with Coal Harbour â€“ and the second hit is a PDF, which most people wouldnâ€™t open. MSN doesnâ€™t list the Coal Harbour Community Centre in its first page of hits.

By overhauling your website, you can gain efficiencies, increase awareness, improve navigation and achieve other benefits. But, in doing so, you may affect your search engine rankings. If web users canâ€™t find the site theyâ€™re looking for, it doesnâ€™t matter how much time and effort you put into designing a great site. The new Coal Harbour and West End Community Centre website could be better optimized for search engines, without great expense or effort. So, if youâ€™re revamping your website, take search engine rankings into account. Itâ€™s easier to design things right the first time than it is to try to regain Googleâ€™s attention later.

Incidentally, the official Coal Harbour Community Centre site is here.

I listen to Jack FM - viral marketing or not?

General Marketing

2006-02-21 13:50:45

I listen to Jack FM -- or at least that's what a lot of people claim. The Vancouver radio station's "Show the World You Listen to Jack" campaign has apparently sparked a viral marketing campaign. The contest sees people compete to creatively proclaim that "I listen to Jack". In the past few weeks, I've spotted:

a plane flying over downtown while towing a Jack FM banner
a downtown crane with lights that say Jack FM
a young man parading around downtown with a Jack FM sandwich board
the Jack FM van in high profile locations
several ads for the campaign

Some of the contest entries look legitimate. But perhaps Jack is salting the contest with its own entries and or what might be presumed to be entries. Some of the apparent entries I've listed above seem a little over the top. Who but the radio station itself would go to the trouble of renting a plane or space on a crane when the top prize is just $25,000? Seems like a big outlay for a prize that isn't guaranteed. The lines between viral marketing and corporate marketing may be blurred. It's hard to know. As far as I can tell, there's nothing in the contest entry rules to prevent the radio station from running its own campaigns in tandem with the contest. It may be a viral marketing campaign carefully managed by the company, much like those I've mentioned before: Starbucks, Bumvertising, or Beware the Heat.

Email marketing packages

General Marketing

2006-02-19 15:39:36

Last month's direct marketing package from Readers Digest brought me a flood of email about marketing packages. Many of the people who took the time to write wanted to know how email marketing packages differ from regular mail campaigns. As a follow-up, I'm posting some tips for email marketing packages. My post on how to do email marketing without spamming has some suggestions for complying with PIPEDA. Aside from complying with PIPEDA, I think the biggest mistake email marketers make is doing one-off email marketing campaigns. Every email marketing package should be part of a larger strategy for a company's marketing efforts. A single campaign lacks the power of integrated marketing communications. Prospects don't have the energy to stop and pay attention to a single piece, whether it comes by email or mail. It can take three or more tries before your prospects have true recognition -- let alone recall -- of your marketing efforts, given all the messages they receive. So make sure you integrate your marketing communications, leveraging the investments you've made in developing messages, images, tactics and strategies. A focused, consistent campaign will help your prospects understand and recognize your company and products.

Blenz employees quit, creating PR issues

General Marketing

2006-02-07 18:23:29

Four Blenz employees quit their jobs by posting a "Dear John" letter in the window of the coffee shop, according to BeyondRobson.

While most of the web and blog buzz around town discusses the merits of "stick it to the Man", worker solidarity and indentured servitude, I'm left to wonder about the PR issues this causes for Blenz. With several blogs, aggregators and even Flickr already referencing the post, the story will stick around for a while. But, although the Blenz manager likely got the letter, Blenz Corporate may not be aware of the issue, let alone the fallout. It just goes to show that the immediacy of camera phones, digicams and blogs can create a story that spreads and sticks quickly.

A few years ago, I lodged a complaint about the condition of the Blenz on Denman. The company's VP contacted me to apologize and outlined how the chain and would resolve the issue. Then they offered me a pound of my favourite coffee. I said any dark roast coffee would do. They actually called me to find out *exactly* what blend I preferred. Then they couriered it to me. Their quick response to my concerns made me respect the VP and hold the chain in higher regard.

But a "Dear John" letter written to a store manager and not the company is a different issue. I'd be interested to hear if Blenz says anything. The best thing to do is probably to let it blow over. Why create more coverage for a negative event that doesn't involve the corporation so much as a single manager? And it's all allegations, not necessarily facts. I'll be very surprised if Blenz comments on the letter.

Starbucks vs McDonald's for kids

General Marketing

2006-01-31 15:02:46

In my post about coffee cups as billboards, I mentioned that Starbucks is tapping the kids' market. When I was last at Starbucks, I watched several kids down huge hot chocolates, complete with whip and syrup. And I had to wonder about the implications for their health.

Parents have started lobbying fast food chains for healthier alternatives for their kids. Still, McDonald's Happy Meals have fallen out of favour. But if kids are now drinking Starbucks hot chocolate, are they better off? Nope. A McDonald's small hamburger and fries pack 470 calories and 18 grams of fat. However, if you trade the fries for mandarin orange segments, you're now looking at about 250 calories and seven grams of fat. Not exactly health food, but not such a bad choice.

In comparison, a Starbucks hot chocolate has 450 calories and 24 grams of fat. Yikes!

In the age of kids' smoothies, Super Big Gulps, and hot chocolates, I wonder how many parents -- let alone kids -- realize their kids are ingesting the equivalent of entire meals. The fast food chains may be providing alternatives, but parents who'd never given their kids a Happy Meal may be providing the same fare in a cup. Stay tuned for more kiddie drinks at your beverage shops.

Coffee cup as billboard

General Marketing

2006-01-23 01:12:10

Coffee cups and billboards now have something in common. Advertising. Starbucks and Lions Gate Films will turn coffee cups into mini billboards to promote Akeelah and the Bee, an upcoming movie.

Forget Happy Meals, the new generation of movie moguls recognize that parents tow their tots to Starbucks on a regular basis. The coffee shops will feature sneak previews of the movie and employees will have private screenings, in hopes they'll talk up the movie to patrons.

It makes perfect sense. At 10:30 am today, a Sunday, I visited the Granville and Georgia Starbucks with my own tot. Inside, I found eight other tykes and pre-teens with their parents. No wonder movie promoters have headed to Starbucks.

UFile - Quicktax Comparison

Technology Adoption

2006-01-23 00:48:46

Ufile or Quicktax -- I compared these software packages last year at tax time. April's sneaking up on me again and it's time to figure out how I'll do my 2005 taxes. I'm leaning toward working with the accountant I hired last year after a major project put my do-it-yourself accounting plans in flux. Can anyone sway me to use Quicktax or Ufile again? Let me know what packages you'll be using this year.

Vancouver marketing associations

General Marketing

2006-01-21 03:27:52

Vancouver marketing associations help many local marketers ramp up their careers. Since I've received a few requests for information on Vancouver and Lower Mainland marketing associations, I thought I'd post my list here. This is by no means an endorsement of any of the organizations. I simply wanted to provide some resources for Vancouver marketing professionals who want to network, take part in professional education or simply keep abreast of industry trends.

BC American Marketing Association (BCAMA)

International Internet Marketing Association

Vancouver Chinese Advertising, Marketing and Media Association(VCAMMA)

Legal Marketing Associtation

International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) - Vancouver

BC Association of Integrated Marketers

Canadian Public Relations Society - Vancouver CPRS

Sales & Marketing Executives International (SMEI) Vancouver

Association of Internet Marketing & Sales

Canadian Advertising Research Foundation

Canadian Institute of Marketing

The business cost of illiteracy

General

2006-01-21 01:09:14

Today's Globe and Mail (decaying link) offers a story on college graduates who can't read. More than half of students at US colleges and at least three-quarters of students at junior colleges "lack the literacy to handle complex, real-life tasks such as understanding credit card offers". As scary as those results are for colleges, they're even more frightening for North American businesses.

Employees with poor literacy and numeracy skills cost money. They take longer to train because they can't skim reports, training manuals, intranets and other in-house materials. Their inboxes quickly fill up with reports, memos, news releases, whitepapers and other documents key to the company's knowledge base. Lesser literate employees take longer to read materials, find information, complete written tasks -- and even program software.

Moreover, poor literacy often translates into poor writing. Many people simply avoid documenting processes, leaving the company without a knowledge base or a paper trail. The rest of the company suffers when other people have to read the reports and emails written by co-workers with less then stellar literacy skills.

And literacy's just part of the problem. Poor numeracy means employees have trouble deciphering market statistics, financials, forecasts and budgets. The inability to do quick calculations in a meeting or during a sales call can cost a company money, time and credibility.

For companies, this means it's important to check the literacy and numeracy of incoming employees, contract workers and consultants. Some companies administer tests, while others rely on interviews to screen candidates for their ability to think on their feet and quickly digest new information. In any case, businesses need to know they're working with quality people. Otherwise, the bottom line may suffer.

Blooker Prize calls for entrants

General

2006-01-20 01:40:42

Hot on the heels of the Booker Prize comes the Blooker Prize.

According to the folks at self-publisher Lulu.com, a blooker is what you get when you turn a blog into a book.

The prize recognizes blooks in three categories: fiction, non-fiction, and web-comics. The overall winners will receive up to $2,000 -- "in addition to a small piece of literary immortality and something resembling glory in the realm known as the blogosphere," says Susan MacTavish Best, PR rep for Lulu.

The judges will include Cory Doctorow, co-editor of BoingBoing.net, Roblimo Miller of Slashdot.org, and Paul Jones, founder of iBiblio.org.

Yahoo Answers member

General

2006-01-18 17:13:29

As part of my blog, I'll occasionally be answering questions from Yahoo Answers.

Visit Yahoo! Answers

Marketing Plans for Service Businesses

General Marketing

2006-01-18 16:14:48

Looking to grow your service business? Check out Marketing Plans for Service Businesses. Academic press giant Elsevier sent me a copy of the book a few weeks ago. Written by a couple of marketing professors, including a former Canada Dry marketing director, the book takes a practical approach to using marketing to improve the bottom-line for service businesses.

The book is aimed at professional marketing managers, but is probably better suited to MBAs and anyone else accustomed to dry academic materials. This is no "Who Moved My Cheese?" If you're reading this book, you're serious about improving your market orientation and your profits. Still, if you can handle the material, you're well positioned to learn how to improve results.

Advertising rip-offs

General

2006-01-17 22:21:19

Via BoingBoing, here's a French site that compares original ads with knock-offs. Do great minds think alike or do they just tear the same ads out of magazines?

Vancouver Sun phone number

General

2006-01-15 23:44:40

Want The Vancouver Sun phone number? For reasons unknown to me, people keep visiting my site in search of The Vancouver Sun's phone number. You'll find it here.

BC Business Service Centre - Small Business BC

General

2006-01-15 16:16:03

The BC Business Services Centre aka Small Business BC provides a wealth of information for BC, Vancouver and Lower Mainland business owners. Over the years, I've made dozens of trips to the BC Business Services Centre. The Cordova Street offices offer a business library, seminars, coaching and many one-stop business registration resources. Run by Small Business BC, this small business resource has helped thousands of Vancouver companies start up, grow and expand. I've turned to the centre many times for help with both my Vancouver marketing company and my Vancouver marketing consultant clients.

Originally a federal/provincial partnership, Small Business BC is now a non-profit society that makes use of private sector partnerships. Western Economic Diversification Canada and the BC Ministry of Small Businessand Revenue still support the endeavour.

Small business resources in Vancouver

General

2006-01-15 16:06:28

Vancouver small businesses are growing by leaps and bounds. The following small business resources can help you start and grow a Vancouver company. These are just a few of the many information sources for Vancouver firms.

Small Business BC

Small business links from Vancouver Public Library

BC Business Services Society

Canada Business

Small business resources from SUCCESS

Vancouver Public Library Business & Economics Division

Vancouver Economic Development Commission

SBInfoCanada

Vancouver direct mail from Reader's Digest

General Marketing

2006-01-12 20:16:40

So when is an Xpress Post not expressly an Xpress Post?

Today, I received the following envelope (front,back) from Readerâ€™s Digest. I actually received the same mailing last year, but never found the time to blog about it. At first blush, it looks like Iâ€™ve received an XpressPost, the kind that Canada Post offers. Thereâ€™s a big green sticker that makes it look like the envelope passed through a special dispatch office. The Package says â€œExpress Day Timed Deliveryâ€?. The envelope offers instructions for CPC, presumably Canada Post Corporation. . The back of the package includes information about mailing restrictions, CPC indicia, addressing, and liability. The liability information refers to section 48 and 49 of the Canada post Corporation Act. The sender is the finance director of Readerâ€™s Digest. An unsuspecting recipient might think that Readerâ€™s Digest had couriered them some sort of financial notice.

My father worked for Canada Post for his entire career. My motherâ€™s been there for more than a decade. If thereâ€™s one thing I know, itâ€™s Canada Post. But this isnâ€™t an Canada XpressPost. The top right-hand corner of the mailing reveals that this is Addressed AdMail. Thatâ€™s right, junk mail addressed to me. All the blurbs about CPC are meant as red herrings. Readerâ€™s Digest is merely printing out Canada Postâ€™s postal guide. The green sticker is just a sticker. All mail is subject to sections 48 and 49 â€“ and all the other sections â€“ of the Canada Post Corporation Act; itâ€™s an offence to interfere with the mail.

Inside, the first thing the reader finds is a blue form marked â€œSTATEMENTâ€?. But a closer look reveals that the statement and enclosed materials -â€“ including a special hologram decoder card â€“- comprise a mailing for a Readerâ€™s Digest contest.

The first time I received this mailing, I only opened the envelope because I was in awe of the direct mail campaign. (I opened it today so that I could scan the contents for my blog.) This must be one of the most expensive direct mail pieces Iâ€™ve ever received. I just had to know what Readerâ€™s Digest thought Iâ€™d want from them. But, unfortunately for Readerâ€™s Digest, their money is wasted. Iâ€™m not their target market. Their direct mail list is obviously dirty. They need to do some serious database scrubbing, especially given that this is the second time Iâ€™ve received the package.

I havenâ€™t heard about this campaign from anyone else, but I imagine itâ€™s a large-scale effort. Readerâ€™s Digest is a master of direct mail. I once attended a lecture where the president of Reader's Digest Canada said that the company is the the business of direct mail lists, not magazines.

(Update: actually, I wrote about this direct mail and forgot about it.)

Direct mail posts

Email marketing tips

Starbucks coffee cup on roof of car

General

2005-12-21 01:51:05

Starbucks strikes again with its red cup campaign for the holiday season. The coffee chain famously serves up beverages in red cups during December. Billboard ads point us to a high tech advent calendar at www.theredcup.com In the US, TV ads follow the plight of red cups and Starbucks has hired taxis to drive around with coffee cups seemingly left on the roof. According to a post on the Flickr photo site, the coffee company has even attached red Starbucks cups to taxis -- the driver says "Happy Holidays from Starbucks" when informed about the cup.

This weekend, while driving across the Lions Gate Bridges, I spotted a Starbucks red cup on the bumper of the truck ahead of me. Having heard about the red cup campaign, I pointed it out to my husband. We laughed, thinking we'd spotted the Vancouver version of the viral marketing campaign. But when we (coincidentally) followed the truck into the Park Royal shopping centre, the cup bounced on the bumper when the truck went over a speed bump. My husband thinks the driver honestly left a full coffee cup on the bumper while loading up the truck. I'm holding out hope for the red cup campaign, since the cup merely bounced and did not fall off. Let me know if you see this campaign in your town.

Vancouver GMAT prep courses

General

2005-12-01 23:29:21

Vancouver GMAT prep course provider Veritas Prep has taken me on as an instructor. I'm teaching the verbal section of the GMAT, the international admissions test for MBA programs. In January, I plan to teach the quantitative section, too.

Teaching has been a long-time passion for me. Earlier this year, I completed an instructor training program. I'm pleased to now be teaching for Veritas Prep.

Corporations that benefit from customers' goodwill

General

2005-11-25 03:52:54

As the start of the holiday shopping season approaches, we can expect some retailers to promote donations for food banks, needy families and other groups. In some cases, retailers act as donation points, provide resources to coordinate fundraising, or even make their own donations. However, some companies simply encourage shoppers to make full-price purchases of items in the store. As a result, the retailer profits from the goodwill of its customers. A new Wal-Mart TV ad even features a coach who takes his players to Wal-Mart to shop for the local toy drive. Although it's possible that Wal-Mart offers some sort of discount, this certainly isn't clear in the ad. It seems more likely that Wal-Mart and retailers like it want to be seen as promoting community spirit.

The Wal-Mart ad irked me and I planned to write about corporations that profit from customers' donations. I don't expect corporations to make donations -- that's not my grudge. My gripe is with companies that promote the donations of their employees or customers without providing any donations or in-kind services.

Today, I received an email today from Tracey Axelsson, owner of Bundles, a Vancouver-based children's store. I was heartened to discover that, until December 18th, Bundles will offer 40 percent off any item purchased for the Gordon Neighbourhood House's Toy Drive and the Basics For Babies campaign. Bundles will collect donations and deliver them to the charities.

"I've always wanted to do something at my store to participate in this kind of outreach, but I've always felt uncomfortable with making money off these loving acts of strangers," says Tracey. "I think this is a great way to not only eliminate my discomfort and provide a strong means to reinforce these generous acts. I'm also looking forward to showing my gratitude for the support we've received in the past few years since opening!"

Bravo to Bundles for taking a deep discount during the busy holiday season. Bundles is in English Bay -- a few steps east of Davie and Denman, at 1789 Davie Street.

Everything I Know about Business...

General

2005-11-03 14:51:33

Wiley Canada sent me copy of Everything I Know about Business...I Learned from a Canadian, a book by Leonard Brody and David Raffa. Having finally had the time to review it, I'm impressed. Canada is a country of intrepid entrepreneurs, but we rarely hail the success of those people. Whether too shy, too self-deprecated or simply underfunded, Canadians have had little to say about their business leaders.

Everything I Need to Know... tells the stories of more than a dozen Canadians who've succeeded in business. Brand names like Jim Pattison and Leonard Asper join successful, but less-known figures like Terry McBride (Nettwerk Music) and Joel Cohen (producer of The Simpsons). In an interesting but effective twist, Moshe Safdie, renowned architect, shows up to provide advice on organizational design.

The book can seem a bit dry, text-heavy and cramped at times. However, it highlights tales we Canadians rarely hear. Canadian entrepreneurs often say that, if you can make it in Canada's frigid business climate, you can make it anywhere. This book shows just how that happens.

Proceeds from the book go to Junior Achievement

Vision Vancouver needs to search engine optimize

General Marketing

2005-11-02 03:07:16

Vision Vancouver, a contender in the upcoming Vancouver city council elections, needs to optimize its website for search engines. Plunk "Vision Vancouver" into Google, and you won't have any luck. In comparison, Vancouver COPE and Vancouver NPA are tops in Google.

As for the Vision Vancouver website, you'll find it at VoteVision.ca. But I only know that because I visited the #4 Google result (VancouverVision.com), a film industry site that had a message directing me to the right URL for the political party.

Not every voter -- or customer -- turns to the web. But when people come looking for your company, you want them to succeed. Otherwise, you're turning away people who are obviously interested in what you have to say. If you can't satisfy their need for information, your competitors will. You're essentially giving away business.

Canadian Tire Guy's secret life

General Marketing

2005-10-27 17:09:59

The Canadian Tire Guy's secret life is revealed in this Macleans piece Gill Gunson sent me. Macleans speculates that the Canadian Tire Guy is a high school geography teacher whose history of domestic bliss is precarious at best: "It can't be easy, even for a fictional character, to have a mid-life crisis play out on national TV."

The Canadian Tire Guy's ad contract says he can't do interviews. I'd love to know how he and is wife can fork out all that dough for gadgets without ever telling one another. Perhaps we'll get a chance to see him Rototil his Canadian Tire credit card some time before the Canadian Tire Guy's wife (Ms. Canadian Tire Guy? There is no female equivalent to guy.) serves him divorce papers and a demand for maintenance payments made with Canadian Tire money.

See other comments I've made about the Canadian Tire Guy.

Legacy on Robson

General Marketing

2005-10-19 15:30:14

Via HundredNorth, a real legacy on Robson:

Robson Street's an exclusive address, all right.

By my counts, this is strike 2 for the Legacy on Robson billboard. When they originally put up the billboard -- complete with URL -- they didn't bother to make sure their website was up.

The grand opening for the condo is this weekend. If the developers are smart, they'll have a response to this picture, which is already no doubt circulating the blog world.

Consultant blogs -- consult your blog strategy

General

2005-10-12 12:47:03

Consultant blogs are still a minority in the wide world of blogs. Most consultants still aren't blogging for business. But that may not be a bad thing. Blogger Mike McLaughlin says consultant blogs should be optional: "Even though anyone can have a blog running in minutes, that doesnâ€™t mean everyone should."

McLaughlin's right. Content is still king on the Internet. If you don't have anything to say, no one will want to read it. If you're so desperate for entries that you blog about your cat, your rock collection or your latest doctor's appointment, you're probably not meeting your goal of running a business blog. There's nothing wrong with running a personal blog, but you should consider whether the content is right for your audience.

You should also consider how much time you want to devote to your business consultant blog. Consider your blog strategy -- timing, content, audience, and themes. Blogging for the sake of making a daily post is going to come across as unispired. It's better to blog on an as-needed basis. Besides, you've got a business to run, right?

Update: Rhona-Mae Arca's business blog

Update (June 7, 2006):
I'm now a huge fan of business blogging. I recently launched the Become a Consultant blog at ConsultantJournal.com, due to the requests for consulting information I receive from my AndreaCoutu.com site visitors.

179 Area Code and telemarketing

General

2005-10-05 18:48:33

Ever Googled for an area code after seeing mysterious number on your call display? Darren Barefoot reports receiving telemarketing calls from a number that starts with 179. He's traced the call to a security system call centre. But, if you try to look up the 179 area code in Google, you won't find anything. That's because many North American telcos are allowing clients to choose their own area codes, including 179. For example, Vonage and Verizon let VOIP clients choose their own area codes. That means telemarketers could be calling from anywhere -- even overseas.

For businesses, this is the telecom equivalent to having a virtual office, PO box, or registered address at a lawyer's office. When you can choose your own area code, you can influence the people you're calling. Not impressed with a Winnipeg area code that signals "telemarketer"? Choose 416 for Toronto. Think clients won't be impressed by calls from Jersey? Choose 212 for New York City.

Of course, this also opens the door to abuse. Customers will need to be more vigilant with telemarketers. Just because a call looks like it came from New York City doesn't mean it is. You never know who's on the other end.

Why press releases end with 30 or xxx

Technology Adoption

2005-10-05 16:23:57

"Why do press releases end in -30-?" asked one of my fellow consultants this morning. Press releases (or news releases, depending on your preference) often finish with -30-, -END- or XXX. As a communications professional, my friend knew what -30- signalled, but was interested in finding out the reason for the shorthand.

The tale handed down to me -- as to other press release writers -- is that, in the olden days of public relations, PR people sometimes put XXX to show the end of a Telex transmission. Some smart aleck interpeted XXX as Roman numerals and converted it to 30. When fax machines became all the rage, more and more people were transmitting press releases and 30 became more popular than ever.

However, I wasn't sure how true this story was. A Google search revealed a few rumours about US Civil War telegraphers using 30, but I couldn't find a citation. So I asked the MetaFilter community why press releases end with 30 -- and asked for some references. About 35 minutes later, someone replied with a link to the Western Union 92 code of 1859. Telegraph operators ended transmissions with 30.

So the 30 predates the US Civil War (1861) and Telex (1935), not to mention faxes and email. I assume few telegraphers used Roman numerals: XXX in Morse is "-..- -..- -..- ", whereas 30 is a quick "...-- -----". But I'll keep checking. There's bound to be a telegraphy hound who can tell me.

Vancouver company marketing via temporary tattoos

General Marketing

2005-10-01 22:57:57

A Vancouver company has turned tattoos into marketing for its coffee. The company's owners sport temporary tattoos of their logo and web address. When people comment on the tattoos, the entrepreneurs have the chance to strike up conversations about the company's products.

Temporary tattoos are clever. But the company also issued a news release, seeking to gain publicity from its tattoo campaign. That's where the firm can gain some real marketing traction. Rather than just marketing itself to a few individuals, the coffee company can tap into the mass media.

However, I noticed they issued the news release today. Saturday is usually a bad day for news releases -- they wind up on an editor's desk and sit until Monday. And, on Monday, the editor has a thousand other faxes, reports, phone calls, email messages and other things to deal with. And, since the headline is extremely long -- "GoldenPalace.com Uses Human Billboards to Advertise; Now Vancouver Entrepreneurs Make History Using Tattoos to Promote the World's First Healthy Coffee at Cupofmoney.com" -- editors will need to make an effort to read it. Snappy headlines and good timing work wonders for news releases. Too much text and a weekend may leave this news release buried, no matter how clever the concept.

Site note: text-based page titles

General

2005-09-30 23:30:47

Just a quick note to say this blog now uses text-based URLs. My magnificent developer has added a feature that automatically turns blog titles into URLs. Before, the blog entries were numbered. Those old entries and their permalinks still work. However, the new text-based URLs will make it easier for web surfers to understand the page content.

My developer also just added LiveBookmark support for Firefox.

Now, back to the show...

Deceptive marketing law

General Marketing

2005-09-28 23:04:46

A little ad copy never hurt anybody, right? Well, maybe not, but Tasers may have. So the company can no longer call its product "non-lethal". Taser will change its product descriptions, as part of an effort to meet US deceptive marketing laws.

Here, in Canada, companies are subject to the Competition Act, specifically part seven, known as Deceptive Marketing Practices. Note that this law also applies to claims made on the Internet. That means your website -- including product specifications -- needs to be accurate. Otherwise, you could be setting yourself up for a lawsuit. So, before you click the publish button, make sure your messages are on the up-and-up.

By popular demand: comments

General

2005-09-24 21:29:06

Prompted by requests from several regular readers, I (er, um, my developer) have added comments to this blog. When I launched this blog almost two years ago, I was reluctant to include comment functionality. This was due to concerns about spam and inappropriate content. I still harbour these concerns. However, my developer -- who handcoded this site -- has built a comments application that allows me to approve content before it is published. This may not fit with every reader's vision of dialogue, but this remains a business blog. I'll refrain from explaining what content is "inappropriate" unless a need arises. I'm fairly confident that my readers aren't the problem -- spambots are more likely to be nuisances.

Bumvertising hits climb

General Marketing

2005-09-22 21:41:32

On Tuesday, when I posted about "bumvertising", Google had 18,600 hits for the word. As of now, Google returns 26,200 results. This just goes to show how publicity and viral marketing (mostly via blogs) can increase your exposure.

Update: 36,600 hits on September 23, 2005

PokerfaceBook bumvertising stunt

General Marketing

2005-09-20 23:27:44

When a friend emailed me about an gambling community's use of homeless people to advertise its site, I was skeptical. Pokerfacebook.com claims to hire homeless people to hold signs advertising its website. The site even calls this "bumvertising", a term it claims to have trademarked. Tonight, The Daily Show featured a segment on the website and its unorthodox tactic. But I remain skeptical. It seems more likely to me that "bumvertising" is actually a publicity ploy. The term, which some may find offensive, is sure to capture the attention of the media and the public. Already circulating as a forwarded email story, "bumvertising" now has 18,600 hits on Google. After tonight's Daily Show coverage, this number will only grow. In fact, as the Daily Show went to commercial, I noticed that Pokerfacebook.com's site slowed under the strain of traffic from the US West Coast. It's possible the firm hired some homeless people, but it was probably as a publicity stunt, not as a foray into a new advertising concept. As a publicity stunt, though, the concept should work wonders. 18,601 (counting mine) hits in Google won't hurt anyone.

See also my follow up post on this story.

Site note: server back up

General

2005-09-15 00:07:40

My server crashed last week. Despite several valiant attempts at reviving it, I (well, my tech) determined that a couple of components had fried. So I (the tech, to tell the truth) ported everything to an old machine. This should be okay for the short-term. Blogging will resume shortly.

Yahoo! News not to blame for captions

Social Capital

2005-09-05 21:05:11

Per the question I asked in my last post, caption writers apparently meant no bias in describing New Orleans looters. Yahoo! News made a statement, noting that it accepts captions directly from wire services. The reporters from AFP and AP say they saw how the persons pictured acquired their items.

The Associated Press said its policy was clear. "When we see people go into businesses and come out with goods, we call it looting," said Santiago Lyon, AP's director of photography. "When we just see them carrying things down the road, we call it carrying items."

Score one for the reporters.

Picture postcards of New Orleans sinking

Social Capital

2005-08-30 19:33:36

Bias in the media. I can only hope that the caption writers saw these people obtain their food.

Picture 1: young man of colour wading through New Orleans flood waters and holding a box of pop. Associated Press caption reads "A young man walks through chest deep flood water after looting a grocery store in New Orleans". (Emphasis mine.)

Picture 2: two light-skinned people wading through New Orleans floor waters and towing indeterminate items. Yahoo News caption reads "Two residents wade through chest-deep water after finding bread and soda from a local grocery store after Hurricane Katrina came through the area in New Orleans, Louisiana." (Emphasis mine.)

Update: I'm not the only one to make this observation. Boing Boing shows the same two pictures and a few others.

Wal-Mart dumps summer fling with Singles Shopping

General Marketing

2005-08-10 21:02:53

Following a whirlwind summer love affair, Wal-Mart has dumped Singles Shopping nights. The retail chain started "shop and flirt" nights at a Virginia store, in mid-July. Just two weeks later, Wal-Mart ended the fling, claiming "it was time to move on". The retailer said that some people had complained.

My guess is that Wal-Mart faced two problems with the program. The first is that Singles Night might have alienated shoppers who weren't looking to be picked up. Even though shoppers were supposed to put red bows in their carts, the mere existence of Singles Night might have been enough to see some shoppers harassed by overly zealous singles. Perhaps Wal-Mart could have run the program after regular store hours.

Wal-Mart may also have feared liability. What happens if shoppers are harassed or end up dating a less than shining citizen? Shoppers probably didn't have to sign the sort of waiver that match-making websites and dating services offer. In a worst-case scenario, perhaps shoppers could sue Wal-Mart for facilitating a relationship with an abuser, stalker, or otherwise undesirable person.

Wal-Mart's not talking. What could cause such a big company to abandon a well-hyped program after just two weeks? Similar endeavours worked well for the company in Germany. But the US is a litigious nation with different social norms. What works well in one market won't always work in another.

The trouble with integrated marketing

General Marketing

2005-08-08 11:21:31

Via Fast Company comes "Why Integrated Marketing Makes Me Shudder". I've been on the integrated marketing bandwagon for many years now. It makes sense to deliver a consistent message to your prospects and customers. It's cheaper, more efficient and less confusing. But, as the authors of the Fast Company blog point out, marketing is just one of the departments with a stake in creating the customer experience. Companies need to consider ways to deliver a seamless customer experience throughout the organization. In a market-oriented firm, the customer should be at the centre, with everything else wrapped around them. Your customer service plans, product development decisions, invoicing and even the way you answer the phone should reflect that. Integrated marketing should reach right across the organization and that's why we need executive-level champions for the cause. At the same time, marketers should seek to integrate their own campaigns and tools, while building alliances with other members of the organization.

New Canada Post mailing restrictions

General Marketing

2005-08-03 18:37:36

As of September 19th, Canada Post will be enforcing restrictions on letter mail destined for the United States. From now on, only paper will be allowed in letter mail. If you want to send anything else, you'll pay $3.95 for a small packet -- up from $1 to $1.70 for lettermail. This is sure to affect the bottomlines of many direct marketing campaigns and mail order companies. It may also dampen excitement for Canadian eBay sellers who ship to the US.

Don't email anyone under 30

Technology Adoption

2005-07-28 20:15:27

Only old people use email, according to a new survey by Pew Internet and American Life Project. Teens say email is fine for discussions with their parents and institutions, but all the cool kids are using instant messaging (IM) these days.

While most teens still use email, half of those surveyed said they IM daily, sometimes spending two hours using messenger programs. They use IM to send weblinks, photos, music and video clips -- whereas adults usually just send text.

Although many companies have targeted teens with email, smart firms will make a move to embrace instant messaging friendly campaigns. Teens will exchange weblinks if they're cool, but the instant nature of IM means they'll move to the next new thing quickly. Move over, Subservient Chicken.

Karla Homolka wants a Tim Horton's iced cappuccino

General Marketing

2005-07-06 17:22:04

In her now famous interview with RDI, Karla Homolka revealed her plans following her release from prison:

Napier: And what will be the first thing that you'd like to do?
Homolka: This is stupid. I'd like to have an iced cappuccino. An iced cappuccino from Tim Hortons, that's what I'd like to do.

When I read the above exchange on Monday, it prompted the following question: what do you do when a convicted serial killer endorses your product?

When we usually hear about such scenarios, it's because a celebrity has committed or been accused of a crime. In those cases, the corporate sponsors decide whether to pull their ads and cut their ties to the celebrity. But, with Homolka, it's an infamous criminal making a (presumably) unsolicited endorsement.

Tim Hortons should say nothing, unless asked. If they are asked to comment, they should do so in the context of Canadians at large and put the focus back on their existing campaigns. Saying "no comment" would be folly, since people typically think that term is tantamount to guilt. However, so far, I haven't seen any news stories about Homolka's utterly Canadian craving. This may be because Tim Hortons spends a huge amount on ad dollars and media outlets prefer not to offend the giant. The doughnut chain may have nothing to worry about after all.

Update:
Google's cache of news stories has been updated. Tim Hortons has commented on the iced cap kerfuffle.

The Interview Game Meme

General

2005-06-26 21:52:11

Via Gill Gunson, I learned of a "blog meme" that's making the rounds. It's called the Interview Game. Gill asked me five questions and I've included my answers below:

1. How important do you think education is for marketing and business people? Is it comparable to experience?

Education is important for everyone, not just marketing and business people. But I don't think it replaces experience. It complements it. There are many paths in life and many ways to get to the same or alternate destinations. That being said, spending a few years in school forces you to focus on things you might not otherwise find time for. When I was doing my MBA, I had to spend countless hours thinking about business cases and theories, often in disciplines outside my own area of expertise. But I worked full-time during the program, so I had a constant exchange of formal education and practical experience. In fact, I worked full-time throughout much of my undergrad, too, so my education experience has never been in a vacuum. For me, the combination had been important, since my varied education has allowed me to explore concepts I would not encounter in the workplace. Likewise, my work experience has grounded and tested what I've learned.

2. Do you believe that the same rules of marketing apply to all demographics, or that how a company promotes a product really depends on the age, education, and lifestyle of its customers? Obviously not everyone is going to like blinky lights and dance routines, but disregarding the specifics, are consumers really that varied in what attracts them to a product?

The same rules of marketing always apply, but the strategy and implementation vary. To develop and market a product, you need to understand your customers, choose the right ones, and speak to them on a level that's compelling for them. The product may help to determine the market, but approaching that market is also key. People are alike in that they are attracted to products that meet their needs, wants, interests, and opportunity costs. But those factors and their weightings vary for each person. So you can't expect the same marketing mix to work for everyone.

3. What benefits have you received from maintaining a business blog? Would you recommend it to others in your field? My blog helps me communicate with customers and prospects. It keeps me current -- to come up with content, I have to stay on top of what's going on in my field. My blogs also helps with search engine rankings, gives people another reason to visit my site, and keeps them here longer than a basic site would. Since implementing the blog, my site traffic has increased by 500 percent and I have been able to reduce my investments in other promotional activities. I have a steady stream of leads and new customers. I've also been approached by the media and was recently involved in a pilot tape for a major media outlet. I've also made connections with people in my field. All this has come via my blog. I don't recommend blogs to all businesses, though. You need to have a strategy, ability to implement, metrics, and a compelling reason to blog. It really needs to be part of your overall marketing strategy, not a replacement for it.

4. If you could figuratively slap a company for its ad campaign, which company would it be, and why? You can't say Dairy Queen for their Moolattes, as you've already talked about that on your blog. Canadian Tire commercials irritate me. The Canadian Tire Guy and his family seem to have an endless amount of cash to spend on every possible product. And they never talk to one another! The husband and wife constantly surprise one another with power generators, air compressors, house-sized tents and more. I'd hate to see their Visa bill, although perhaps they subsist on Canadian Tire money. If I had more time, I'd start logging their purchases. It would be interesting to see their home inventory.

5. If the company in your answer to question 4 agreed with you in your assessment of their marketing strategy, and asked you to take over that particular campaign, what would you do differently? Although I'm annoyed by Canadian Tire commercials, I'm not convinced they're a bad idea. I'm hardly a loyal customer, but I'm able to recall their ads, characters, products and even pricing with little effort. The predictability of the ad formula reinforces the image of Canadian Tire as a reliable retail outlet with good deals on a variety of products -- more than just tires. Although the ads don't work for me, they do work. See my answer to question 2, above.

--------
The Official Interview Game Rules

If you want to participate, email me saying "interview me" (it's a self-tagging meme).

I will respond by asking you five questions -- each person's will be different.

You will update your journal/blog with the answers to the questions.

You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.

When others reply, asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Popsicle marketing meltdown

General Marketing

2005-06-23 10:52:51

Snapple's newest publicity stunt accidentally floods a NYC square. Things like this are always funny when they aren't happening to you.

Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes and Your Business

General Marketing

2005-06-14 09:48:23

Heard the hoopla over the Kate Holmes - Tom Cruise romance? It's affecting their careers -- specifically the movies they have out this month. You might think that translates into a boost, but think again. Cruise's PR is backfiring, resulting in mocking from the press and the public. Even the studio execs want Cruise and Holmes to tone things down.

This might seem like a Hollywood celebrity story. But hang on -- there's a lesson for businesses. Never let your personalities get in the way of your product. Sure, good personalities can help elevate your product. They can help to put a human face on your company. That's why Wal-Mart, Buckley's and Tim Horton's spend so much time on stories about people and their products. Still, when those characters become the company, people may forget about the product. That's why Dell dumped the "Dude, you're getting a Dell!" guy.

The key is to keep your market's eyes on the prize. Good marketing keeps the focus on your products and services. Personalities -- like any marketing tool -- should only serve to support your overall strategy.

Decline of the 30-second spot

General Marketing

2005-06-06 21:10:53

Gone are the days when TV viewers could wait till the commercial break to grab a drink, break for the washroom, or flip channels. Advertisers have dumped the traditional 30-second spot for ads that run for anywhere from one second to five minutes. Whether short or long, non-traditional ads thwart channel surfing and PVR and stand out from the regular pattern. Given many viewers skip commercials or favour the Internet, advertisers need to be creative to win the battle for mindshare.

Beware the Heat -- it's 7-Up

General Marketing

2005-06-01 17:59:43

The secret behind Beware the Heat" is out. It's a campaign for 7-Up, a PepsiCo beverage. I wasn't bang on with my prediction that the ad was for Pepsi, but I got 90% of the way there with a guess for a PepsiCo drink.

I learned the news through an email I opted to receive. The call to action says, "Check it out. You have nothing to loose". Nice, try, but the misspelling of "lose" and the two broken or painfully slow hyperlinks make me call this campaign a dud.

Furthermore, even though I signed up to receive news about the campaign, PepsiCo might want to check out my post on "how to email without really spamming". If the direct email campaign finds its way to US recipients, the company may be in hot water over the lack of information about the sender.

RFID target marketing hits Seattle

Technology Adoption

2005-05-30 12:19:56

Awarea, a Seattle startup, will launch target marketing via radio frequency identification (RFID) next week. People carrying special keyfobs will trigger broadcasts from six RFID reader stations atop Qwest phone booths in the downtown area. Depending on their unique profiles, passersby will receive personalized messages about special offers from Amex, Columbia Records, Omaha Steaks and Netflix. By pressing a button on the keyfob, users can have information sent to their email account. About 130 Seattle residents, including some with sight loss, have the keyfobs.

Fear, Greed & the Corporate Blog

Technology Adoption

2005-05-26 09:52:00

Are fear and greed the motivations for corporate blogging? Corante's Many 2 Many group thinks so. The article claims that fearful companies sue, distract or avoid blogs and bloggers. In comparison, enlighted companies turn to blogs and bloggers as a source of competitive advantage. By leveraging innovation, these firms edge out the competition, in a positive spin on greed.

Some companies worry that blogs render them vulnerable. They worry about fallout from bloggers who comment positively or negatively about their products. But opinion leaders have always shaped markets. In fact, the late Everett Rogers, author of Diffusion of Innovations, and Geoffrey Moore of Crossing the Chasm fame have both extensively researched and written about this subject. Blogs are simply another way for opinion leaders to interact with followers. Smart companies recognize that it makes more sense to engage and influence bloggers, rather than to antagonize or ignore them.

Executives also fret about allowing their employees to blog. Fearful that employees may reveal secrets, they ban blogging. But companies already have protection in place: standard non-disclosure agreements. Most employees sign NDAs when they start a job. Rather than banning blogs, remind your employees that all their activities, including blogging, fall under NDA. You already trust them with cash, keys, code and other potential risks. Why should blogs be any different?

Blogs are a great way for companies to build personal connections with faceless corporations. When potential and existing customers read about your executives or front-line staff, a relationship starts. Customers have always been more likely to trust your "real" employees than PR or marketing staff. The key is to channel marketing messages through those who have credibility. But, if your team isn't already on board with your market orientation, then there's something wrong.

Blog: what is it?

General

2005-05-21 20:45:52

A blog is short for "weblog", a web-based journal of entries presented in reverse chronological order. Written by one person or several, a blog can present comments, links to other websites, images, video and other content. Some blogs allow others to add feedback.

People who write blogs are known as "bloggers". Most bloggers use web-based software and templates to create their blogs. (My blog is an exception, since it was custom built for me.) Blog applications allow bloggers to focus on writing entries, instead of coding HTML.

Blogs are often distributed using a webfeed, such as RSS or Atom. A webfeed pushes ("feeds") headlines to readers, allowing people to keep on top of a blog's content without having to spend time reading through entries. In other words, a webfeed allows bloggers to publish announcements of what's new on their site and makes it easy for other sites to find and republish content. With a webfeed, a blog's content can reach a wider audience.

Although most blogs are personal, businesses are starting to jump on the bandwagon. Business blogs can help companies optimize their sites for search engines, draw relevant traffic, give prospects a reason to visit the site again, and help keep customers informed. They're also easier to update than general websites.

Some varied examples of Canadian business blogs include:

Much Music Crew Spew -- musings from the Nation's Music Station

Microsoft Solution Developer Network -- tips and insights from MSDN Canada, Microsoft Most Valued Professionals and Regional Directors

Toronto Real Estate -- a real estate broker's musings on real estate in T-dot

Matthew Good -- he may be one of Canada's premier musicians, but he's still part of the entertainment business

Wal-Mart goes Amish

General Marketing

2005-05-20 10:35:30

Wal-Mart's new Ohio store caters to the Amish. Complete with hitching posts for horse-drawn carriages, plain fabric, blocks of ice, and non-electric appliances, the store opened to the public this week. Talk about taking mass products to a niche market!

Wal-Mart, one of the world's biggest retailers, recently committed to save one acre of wilderness for every acre it develops.

Toronto Star article references me

General

2005-05-18 00:05:30

The Toronto Star mentions me in their May 16th article on Canadian business blogs (free to register). The article explores the trials and tribulations Canadian companies face in blogging. It also goes into a surprising amount of detail about how Dairy Queen reacted to one of my past posts.

Incidentally, despite the Star write-up, this blog is not about parenting -- apologies to those who came here looking for posts on that topic. I believe the Star's reporter read my articles on movies that target stay-at-home parents and mainstream struggles with statistics. However, those articles are about market research, numeracy and analysis -- just some of the business issues I cover.

If you're interested in learning more about blogging for business, drop me a line.

Why you need to proofread

General

2005-05-17 21:13:39

This is one of today's headlines from The Vancouver Sun:

"It's election day get out and vote".

(Above link may decay.)

Beware the Heat: Pepsi

General Marketing

2005-05-14 18:10:05

"Beware the Heat" commercials are airing across Canada. The ads show a parched, 20-something guy in a gritty city during the dog days of summer. It's obvious that the guy is hot and thirsty, but the ads mysteriously close with "BewaretheHeat.com".

The BewaretheHeat.com site shows the ads, but tells little. The campaign is designed to take up more thought power than a usual 30-second commercial allows. The Beware the Heat commercials avoid identifying a product. If you sign up to learn more about the campaign, you receive a confirmation email that prompts viral marketing by asking you to tell your friends about the campaign. The email also tells you that you did the right thing by signing up.

But the ad's true identity is just a click away. The site's privacy policy reveals that Pepsi QTG is behind the site. Moreover, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office database shows that Pepsi owns the trademark for "Beware the Heat". BewaretheHeat.com is registered to Proximity Canada, the direct and relationship marketing affiliate of BBDO. Pepsi QTG is one of BBDO's largest clients. Pepsi QTG owns several brands, including Pepsi, Gatorade, Tropicana and Aquafina.

But is the campaign for Pepsi? The otherwise sepia images show blue water containers on top of buildings and an empty swimming pool. This may indicate the start of an Aquafina campaign, although the ads seem better suited to Pepsi or Mountain Dew. Summer is notorious for Cola Wars and the ads seem to suggest that water (if you can find it) isn't enough to quench thirst. So my money is on Pepsi.

Molson marketing contacts -- don't ask me

General

2005-05-09 14:27:49

In January, I posted an article about some dealings I had with the marketing team at Molson. Since then, I've had a surprising number of requests for contact information for Molson's VP and CMO. I haven't handed over this information for three reasons:

It would be unethical to do so. Information disclosed to me by Molson's was a matter of courtesy and not an invitation for spam.

Canadian law may prohibit me from doing so, under the terms of PIPEDA

If you want my help in reaching a market, I'm a Vancouver marketing consultant available for hire.

B2B Marketing Consultant Version of Deadly Sins

General Marketing

2005-05-05 10:26:31

B2B marketing consultants have their own version of the deadly sins, according to Rick Whitmyre. Five Deadly Sins of Marketing are forgetting the audience, jumping over strategy to tactics, expecting miracles from creative, underestimating your website, and misunderstanding public relations.

I know from my own experience that less experienced marketers tend to think marketing's all about the message and that solid creative and a good PR campaign will carry the company. But, as I've noted before, marketing means more than marketing communications.

Vancouver 6000

General

2005-05-04 23:48:26

Vancouver 6000 -- what does it mean? According to a search engine tool I use to identify popular keywords, about 3900 people searched for "Vancouver 6000" last month. Can anyone tell me what this term means?

Japan's falling birthrate spurs game-film merger

Market Research

2005-05-03 10:21:38

Bandai and Namco plan to merge into a multi-billion dollar entertainment company so they can beat Japan's falling birthrate. With fewer children being born each year, the companies have fewer potential customers.

By merging, the companies hope to migrate Bandai's film characters to Namco's game systems and arcades. Bandai owns the rights to cartoons and films like Hello Kitty, Digimon and Strawberry Shortcake. Namco, the video games publisher that brought the world Pac Man, also owns theme parks and arcades.

The "greying" of Japan's population has been the focus of marketers in recent years. Companies have scrambled to improve offerings for seniors. However, the Bandai-Namco merger shows that marketers need to look at how demographic shifts affect all markets, even when that seems counterintuitive.

Do women have a 50% chance of being pregnant?

Market Research

2005-04-27 09:44:41

The New York Times reports that medical patients struggle with statistics. One patient, informed that she would either respond or not respond to a medication, asked if that meant she had a fifty percent chance of success. A Harvard statistician likens the confusion to the following scenario: "Either a woman is pregnant or not. She can't be a little pregnant. But that doesn't mean that she has a 50 percent probability of being pregnant."

Medical patients aren't the only ones who struggle with numbers. Marketers need to be able to understand, manipulate and interpret statistics, so that they can predict market growth, probably revenue, and buyer behaviour. Before you work with a marketer on a market research or financial project, find out about their grounding in numerical subjects. A few courses in basic stats, calculus, accounting and finance should do the trick.

Ask Locally, Find Locally

General

2005-04-20 10:17:04

Vancouver's Brooks Duncan recently launched Vancouver.AskLocally.com. Drawing from the comraderie of long-forgotten Usenet groups, Ask Locally allows locals to ask other locals for the skinny on everything from airfares to zoos.

Vancouver Dose, 24 Hours, Metro -- sizing up

General

2005-04-12 10:29:34

This past month, Vancouverites saw the launch of Dose, 24 Hours and Metro -- three new daily newspapers. The short, snappy news coverage suits the attention span of commuters, although traditionalists might claim that these dailies are to news what Kraft Dinner is to Fettucine Alfredo.

To be sure, some content in the new dailies is instant, cheesy and perhaps not too good for you. But, in a world of 142-second cable news pieces interrupted by a screen crawl that reads "Beyonce says she doesn't like the word bootylicious" -- the dailies may not be so bad. The average traditional newspaper article runs 400 to 500 words, but most people only glance at the headline or 23-word lead paragraph. So we shouldn't scoff at 24 Hours' brag that it takes just 24 minutes to read. People have always stuck to the headlines. The dailies just recognize reality, serving up the right dose every 24 hours for Metro Vancouver.

Finding ways around publication bans

General Marketing

2005-04-04 13:24:43

Last December, I mentioned that The Vancouver Sun had run a story on a little girl poisoned by GHB her father had brought home from a party. Despite a publication ban on the family's identity, The Sun provided enough details that anyone with a web connection or a knowledge of Kitsilano could identify the father. It seems that The Sun is not alone in subverting publication bans. Darren Barefoot reports that The Toronto Sun (no relation to The Vancouver Sun) is practically helping to steer readers to a US blog that has breached the publication ban in the Canadian sponsorship scandal.

Barefoot suggests that these incidents make publication bans absurd. However, I'd argue that these media outlets are acting unethically, possibly jeopardizing defendants' rights to fair trials and making it even scarier for witnesses to come forward. The editors of these media seem to think that they're above the law and that they know best. They pick and choose among bans to breach. Note that no one identified the witnesses in the Air India hearings.

Oh, Baby! Movies for Babies and Parents

General Marketing

2005-03-29 09:32:45

Movies for Babies and Parents. As rewarding as raising children may be, new parents often lament their childfree days, when they could dash out to a movie at a moment's notice. For many parents, a night out at the movies would be too expensive or guilt-ridden, given the need for a babysitter. Until their children reached the age for Disney classics, these parents eschewed movies. But movie theatres have finally realized that parents with young children pose a lucrative niche market. Famous Players will expand Famous Babies to 25 Canadian theatres next month. The promotion includes first-run films, lowered sound, baby change area with free diapers and wipes,and stroller parking. Over at Cineplex, parents can take part in Stars & Strollers. Vancouver's Ridge Theatre offers Movies 4 Mommies, although fathers are welcome, too. The theatres tend to offer movies for parents during the day, when most movie-goers are at work or school. And, in the case of Cineplex and Famous Players, the showings take up just one of several theatres in a multiplex, freeing other screens for regular movies. It's a crying shame that theatres have only recently latched on to the "movies for babies" concept, missing out on an opportunity to capture revenues from stay-at-home parents.

Reader's Digest cops XPress Post

General Marketing

2005-03-22 22:09:16

Yesterday, my husband received an envelope that looked very similar to what you would receive from a Canada Post "XPress Post" courier. The envelope had instructions for CPC -- presumably Canada Post Corporation -- to deliver the package in accordance with certain regulations, much like the disclaimers you see on the back of an XPress Post package. The mailing had stickers that look much like those Canada Post uses for processing and cancellation. And the return address was for the finance director of Canada Post.

My husband and I realized pretty quickly that the envelope likely contained a sales pitch for Reader's Digest. But the mailing was so interesting that I couldn't help opening it. Inside, I found a key, a long direct mail letter, and several "sample" cheques. Direct mail copywriters have long known that clever envelopes marked "urgent" can catch the attention of a potential customer. Likewise, a key looks interesting and most people can't bear to throw it out without reading to find out why they received it. But this Reader's Digest mailing was one of the most sophisticated direct mail packages I've ever received. They went to a lot of trouble and expense to mimic an XPress Post envelope. Has anyone else seen this piece?

Update: The same Vancouver direct mail piece has resurfarced.

Direct Mail Posts

Building credibility through direct mail copywriting

Metcalfe's Law errors explain dotcom bust

Technology Adoption

2005-03-17 14:09:39

Looking for yet another explanation of the dot com bust? Metcalfe's law is wrong, researchers Andrew Odlyzko and Benjamin Tilly claim.

As I wrote last year, Metcalfe's Law holds that a network's value is the square of the size of a network.* If two people are connected by instant messenger, fax machines, or cell phones, the value is four. If 20 people are connected, then the value is 400. Bob Metcalfe made the claim in 1980, aiming to explain his ethernet, but dot-commers often cited it in the late 1990s.

But two University of Minnesota professors say that real network growth is less dramatic. Their research shows that a network's value grows something like n times the log of n. In one calculation, Metcalfe's Law called for 100 percent growth, where the researchers found that it only grew at five percent. Moreover, not all connections on a network provide the same value.

Such calculations may sound purely academic, but they help to explain the failure of mergers and business plans for telecom, email, text messaging, and other network companies. Network value just doesn't grow as fast as we hoped. Moreover, some connections provide more value than others. (Something that should be clear to anyone who has their neighbour's kid's address, but not Bill Gates' in their email contacts list.)

* Note: Although Metcalfe's Law holds that the network's value grows at the square of n, the actual calculation is n(n-1), since you can't communicate with yourself. If just one person has a cell phone, the network has no value.

IT vs. Marketing: website management

General Marketing

2005-03-10 10:06:16

A reader recently asked blogger Darren Barefoot about the folly of letting a company's IT team manage a website, instead of the marketing team.

Whether left to IT or marketing, a website can be tricky business -- both departments are equally capable of disaster. The important thing is to have a clear business case and plan for the website. If the marketing team takes charge of the business case, it can focus on integrating the website with overall marketing goals. Left as a strict IT case, the website will be orphaned and managed in isolation. Still, the marketing team needs to involve IT, so that the business case does not turn into a technology nightmare.

Try building a business case for the website. Set out clear objectives, messages, metrics and necessary tools and competencies. Then show how your marketing department will follow through on the plan, supported by IT. This will help change management's perception of the website so that they focus on the business issues, instead of seeing the website as a pure technology issue.

Management probably doesn't see events management as a pure travel issue or collateral as a pure printing issue. You just need to help them focus on the business goals, instead of the underlying technology. You may also want to look at building the website so that many issues are automated and standardized, reducing the change that marketing will mess up.

As for outsourcing vs. in-house development, this depends on the core competencies of your firm. Take a look at Porter's views on the subject.

Microsoft Office shortcuts

General

2005-03-07 11:02:06

Via Jan Karslbjerg, some shortcuts for Microsoft Outlook. PC Magazine also has general shortcuts for the entire Microsoft Office suite. I was delighted to learn that, in Word, Shift-F3 changes the case of letters. And how have I gone so long without knowing that the Windows key will bring up the "Start" menu?

Ask Jeeves about Bloglines

General

2005-02-08 20:29:23

Ask Jeeves has purchased Bloglines, the leading free service for searching, subscribing, publishing and sharing RSS feeds and blogs.

In recent months, Google, Yahoo and MSN have added blogs to their portals. However, through Bloglines, Ask Jeeves will tap a popular, powerful blog tool. This may help the company to shed its fifth-place ranking in the search engine wars.

Vancouver Marketing Blog: (c) 2005 by Andrea Coutu.
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Tony Clement needs to monitor his website

General Marketing

2005-02-06 21:05:32

Many companies put up websites, then forget about them. Let the website for Conservative Party leader candidate Tony Clement serve as a warning. The mysterious "Dark Network Hack Team" has hacked the site.

Clement may not be as high profile as Stephen Harper, but that's no reason for his team to ignore his website. The hacked site has been up long enough for Google and Yahoo to index it. Someone's asleep at the wheel.

Clement's site is just one example of what happens when organizations forget about their websites. Last year, while working on contract for a major software company, I Googled for "buy product" (where product was the name of their software). Google pulled up a page from the company's own website. The reseller, who had abandoned the product a few years earlier, had posted a long rant about the faults of the company and product. This wasn't really a hack, since the reseller had publishing rights. But imagine how many potential customers may have searched for "buy product" over the previous few years.

Unlike printed brochures, websites can change in a flash. And the results of a crashed server or broken link can be just as crushing as the efforts of a malicious employee, customer, partner, or hacker. If you're going to invest in a website, you should be willing to monitor it on a regular basis.

Thanks to Darren Barefoot for the heads-up on Clement's site.

Vancouver Marketing Consultant Blog. (c) 2005 by Andrea Coutu.
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Tax time and switching costs

Strategy

2005-01-25 13:44:28

As February approaches, prepare for the onslaught of T4s, T5s, and tax software ads. You don't need to submit your taxes until April 30th, but makers of tax software will be out in full force. A quick glance at the market reveals that switching costs shape the field.

Quicktax recently sent me some direct mail, offering special bonuses to prompt me to buy their product. However, since I don't need Corel PhotoPaint or an encyclopedia, these bonuses do little to sway me. Still, I happily forked over $60 for Quicktax for Small Business. I've used Quicktax for years and have little incentive to stray.

Like many Quicktax users, I perceive that trying a new tax package would involve switching costs. I'm already familiar with previous versions of Quicktax. I can quickly and easily navigate through the software. I know it's fairly easy to use and that I can turn to online and telephone customer support. Quicktax is a known quantity.

In comparison, I know very little about Taxwiz or UFile, let alone another Canadian tax packages. These packages are cheaper than Quicktax and may be just as easy to use. But I don't know and don't have the time to find out. I'm not even sure that these packages offer small business forms. Even if I usually worked with the $40 consumer version of Quicktax, I would still be willing to pay extra for Quicktax. For me, it's worth $15 to avoid the risk of switching costs.

As a marketer, I'd be interested in finding out how Quicktax, TaxWiz, and UFile came up with their pricing. Intuit owns both Quicktax and Taxwiz -- did the company map out switching costs or just experiment with pricing? Have Intuit and the makers of UFile found a way to value their software, in comparison with professional tax services and people who use pen and paper? It's unlikely that either firm uses a cost-plus scenario to determine pricing. Having been in the market for a few years, these firms face descending curves for development costs.

Tax software is just one example of a product with switching costs. Buyers face switching costs every time they consider changing banks, grocery stores, hairdressers, or online bookstores. Smart companies find ways to build in switching costs without alienating buyers.

Direct Mail Posts

Building credibility through direct mail copywriting

Subversive marketing emerges from dark

General Marketing

2005-01-20 13:40:37

Forbes has proclaimed ambush marketing a hot trend for 2005. That's no surprise -- companies have resorted to slick tactics for years. A few months ago, I mentioned that Vancouver's Olympic Committee was working on plans to counter ambush marketing during the Games. However, the Forbes article portrays ambush marketing as unexpected marketing, as opposed to an attempt to undermine the competition's advertising investments. What Forbes really means is that stealth marketing, guerilla marketing and cool hunting are on the rise. Although Forbes predicts that established firms will start using these tactics with mainstream audiences, subversive marketing has typically worked best with the young and hip. And the young and hip, in turn, are prime candidates for viral marketing.

Vancouver Marketing Blog: (c) 2005 by Andrea Coutu. www.Andrea Coutu.com.
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Stealing Jerry: It's Not All Right

General Marketing

2005-01-17 21:24:52

Jerry Garcia's estate is suing an Atlanta burrito chain, claiming Moe's Southwest Grill never acquired licensing rights for the use of the late Grateful Dead singer's image.

To Dead Heads, the move might seem ironic, given the Grateful Dead's past stance on intellectual property -- the band welcomed bootleg taping of concerts and turned a blind eye to parking lot sales of unlicensed band merchandise. However, whereas the band's fans simply sought to share musical experiences and pay for concert tickets, Moe's Southwest Grill seeks to profit from Garcia's image and likeness.

When a business uses a person's name or likeness, the firm needs to have permission from that person -- or their estate. In addition to having the person sign a release, the business may need to pay a licensing fee or offer other moneys. If the firm doesn't obtain a release, it runs the risk of being sued for misappropriating personality -- and having to pay damages. action. Since Moe's Southwest Grill uses names, portraits, and quotes from late entertainers, the burrito chain may soon face suits from the estates of other singers.

Vancouver Marketing Blog: (c) 2005 by Andrea Coutu. www.Andrea Coutu.com.
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Molson Canada:

General

2005-01-11 16:51:49

Molson Canada has redeemed itself. Last summer, I entered a contest and was informed, by email, that I had won -- on the condition that I answer a skill-testing question. I immediately responded. Two months passed. I emailed several Molson email addresses, including the head of the ad agency responsible for the campaign. Two more months passed. I looked on Molson's website, but couldn't find a mailing address. So I used the SEDAR database to find the contact information for Molson's Chief Marketing Officer. I dashed off a letter and included copies of my past emails.

Bingo. Molson's CMO responded on Christmas Eve. Shortly thereafter, Molson's VP of Customer Relationship Marketing contacted me by email and phone. She apologized and explained that the company would do its best to remedy the situation. Today, I received my prize pack by overnight courier. Molson's sent me five Napster cards, instead of just one. And they threw in a nifty sweatshirt. I'm impressed. Molson turned a negative customer experience into a positive one.

Molson obviously recognizes that an unhappy customer can affect the bottom line. Say a company has 1,000 customers in January 2005. Assume 95 percent of customers are happy, satisfied, or undecided with customer service. If the remaining five percent move on to competitors, the company's customer base will drop to just 774 by December 2009. Even if the company grew its customer base by 10 percent each year, but still lost five percent of customers, the customer base would drop to 896. Smart companies seek to retain existing customers, because they recognize that it takes more effort and money to acquire new customers.

Although not every customer is worth keeping, it makes sense to listen and respond to most complaints. When a customer takes the time to tell you about a problem, they're actually doing you a service. You've been given a chance to redeem your company, retain a customer, and increase the chances that the customer will tell others about how you responded. More importantly, you've been given an opportunity to fix the problem and ensure a better experience for all your customers.

Vancouver Marketing Blog: (c) 2005 by Andrea Coutu. www.Andrea Coutu.com.
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Dijon Ketchup? Never.

General Marketing

2005-01-06 14:21:18

Dijon ketchup. Back in the early 90s, the Barenaked Ladies released a song called "If I Had a Million Dollars". My brother introduced me to the indie release. At the time, it caught our attention because of a line about how, if the singer had a million dollars, "I'd buy you a K-Car" -- the car my brother and I learned to drive as teens. However, in another line that stood out, the Barenaked Ladies said they'd put "dijon ketchup" on their Kraft Dinner. More than 13 years later, I have yet to see dijon ketchup.

In "The Ketchup Conundrum" from The New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell searches high and low for dijon ketchip. He explains why Grey Poupon's dijon mustard took the world by storm, but ketchup remains ketchup. Although the article may be a bit lengthy for readers with Internet era attention spans, it's worth a read for insight into why the ketchup category has seen little change.

New Year's Resolutions for Marketers

Strategy

2005-01-05 22:48:41

Looking to make some New Year's resolutions for your marketing programs? ClickZ suggests seven ways for marketers to ring in 2005. It comes down to driving and tracking traffic, testing your marketing campaigns, focusing on customers, trying new programs, ensuring customer privacy, scheduling campaigns, and modeling customer lifetime value.

However, no matter what resolutions you make for your business in 2005, remember to look back on past years and focus on improvements. Instead of dwelling on past mistakes, learn from them and look to make lasting improvements. Drink a cup o'kindness yet for auld lang syne.

Vancouver Marketing Consultant Blog: www.AndreaCoutu.com. (c) 2005 by Andrea Coutu.
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Seth Godin's Bootstrapper's Bible

General Marketing

2005-01-03 23:43:05

Time has run out on marketing guru Seth Godin's offer for free copies of his Bootstrapper's Bible. The ebook serves as a handy guide for anyone wanting to start a business with minimal capital. Although Godin's offer has expired, I've got permission to email the guide to my contacts. If you want a copy, send me an email with your name, title, company name, and email address. My address is info (at) andreacoutu (dot) com.

Vancouver Marketing Consultant blog by Andrea Coutu, from www.andreacoutu.com. (c) 2005 by Andrea Coutu.
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Business Trends for 2005: My Votes

General Marketing

2005-01-02 22:55:34

Fast away the old year passes...hail the New Year's marketing trends. As we ring in 2005, here are my votes for marketing trends we'll see this year.

Obesity
Expanding waist-lines will expand the bottom line for businesses, as firms scramble to leverage and manage the North American obesity epidemic. Watch for growth in market categories, such as size-plus clothes for kids, diet aids, nutrient-dense foods, gyms for kids, and diabetic products. Companies will also work to manage their customers' increasing weights -- Transport Canada recently raised the benchmark weights for airline passengers, meaning airlines will look to raise prices, reduce seating, or otherwise recoup costs.

Personal media: life in a box
In recent years, we've seen the proliferation of digital cameras, camcorders, webcams, personal digital assistants, blog software, multi-feature cell phones, and low-tech options such as scrapbooks. Consumers can capture every waking moment and thought, then save for later review. They can upload their lives to vanity websites, share photos with the world, or broadcast their lives via online diary. And, as September 11th, Columbine, and the Indian Ocean tsunami have shown, ordinary people can become citizen journalists by providing content for the world's media.

Commodities spikes
Demand from China and other growing Asian economies will continue to push up prices for raw materials. Fall out from the Iraq War may also cause fluctuations in oil prices, ultimately leading to higher transportation, plastics, and nylon prices. Translation: we'll pay more for goods.

New tourism destinations
Following tsunamis and hurricanes in Asia and Florida, tourism operators will promote new destinations. Expect to hear more about Southern Europe, the Caribbean, and South America.

In-article advertising
Online magazines and news sources will continue to incorporate new forms of advertising. Expect to see underlined keywords in articles and to watch an ad before proceeding to an article -- unless you subscribe.

"Real people" and stealth marketing
Following on the heels of reality TV, Jared from Subway and the never-ending stream of Buckley's syrup fans, companies will continue to push "real people" in advertising. Trusting in consumer testimonials, some firms will even turn to cool hunting, as they try to leverage covert one-to-one relationships. With fewer people watching TV and responding to traditional advertising, companies will also push guerilla and stealth marketing tactics, sending glam girls and beautiful boys to clubs, movies, concerts, and shopping districts, where they can connect with consumers.

Green Products
Rising fuel prices, advances in fuel cell technologies, the self-actualization of wealthy boomers, and growing health and environmental concerns will all add to the push for green products. Look for more hybrid cars, LED lights, and LEED buildings, among other green products.

Of course, only time will tell what trends persist. But businesses can improve their prospects by investing in market research and strategic analysis, so they can better manage customer and industry trends.

Vancouver Marketing Blog: Andrea Coutu. (c) 2005 by Andrea Coutu.
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Vancouver and BC toy library resources

Social Capital

2004-12-21 21:11:15

As holiday commercialism continues at full tilt, The Westender calls for a Vancouver toy library -- a community resource where children and parents can borrow toys. Many years ago, my third grade teacher, May Mossey, operated a toy library at Fairview Elementary School. Regardless of family income, children and their parents could borrow toys, including Lincoln Logs, board games, Twister, Fisher Price playsets, and other goodies. I still remember asking my mom what "Maw-noh-poh-lee" was all about -- I soon became an avid Monopoly player, setting the stage for my business career. Through the toy library, children could satisfy cravings for one-hit wonder games, such as the Emergency TV show game, or simply play with games their families could not otherwise afford. By playing with toys, children interact with objects and people, apply creative thinking, develop confidence, solve problems, and build physical skills.

In The Westender article, the editor, Carlyn Yandle, laments the lack of toy libraries in Vancouver, adding that she had been unable to find any toy libraries in Canada. I don't know if my elementary school still offers a toy library, but Google turns up toy libraries at several child development centres and aboriginal childhood development centres. These include:

Vancouver Area:

Richmond Public Library
Fraser Valley Child Development Center
Langley Child Development Centre
South Fraser Child Development Center
BC Centre for Ability
BC:
Trail and District Library
Cariboo Chilcotin Child Development Center Association
Bulkley Valley Child Development Center Society
Kitimat Child Development Center Association
Nanaimo Neurological & Cerebral Palsy Assocation
Comox Valley Child Development Association
Quesnel & District Child Development Center
South Peace Child Development Society
Thompson Nicola Family Resource Society
Old Masset Village Council
Friendship House Assoc of Prince Rupert
Kermode Friendship Society
Houston Friendship Centre Society
Office of the Wet'Suwet'en
PacificCARE Child and Family Enrichment Society
The Canadian Association of Family Resource Programs offers a handbook on toy libraries and the Canadian Association of Toy Libraries and Parent Resource Centres is listed at 401- 120 Holland, Ottawa, Ontatio, K1Y 0X6 (613) 728-3309 (no website found). If you know of any other relevant resources, let me know and I'll update this list.
(c) 2004 by Andrea Coutu. Vancouver Marketing Consultant. All rights reserved.
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Women's razor shows shift in men's market

Strategy

2004-12-17 16:41:23

Gillette's new vibrating razors for women may seem like just another power play. Everyone knows that the real money is in the razor blades, not the razors. But the real news is in Gillette's decision to price the Venus Vibrance razors at the same level as the much hyped Mach 3 Power series for men.

This price equality could mark a new era for women's grooming products and services. In the past, marketers have elevated prices for women's grooming products, claiming women will pay a premium for such products. That's why women have traditionally paid more for hair cuts, drycleaning, and personal grooming products. But, according to a marketing firm cited in the article, today's women only fork over cash when they see a tangible reason to do so.

Still, this new price equality may have more to do with a shift in men's attitudes. Men frequent hair stylists, spas, manicurists, and cosmetic surgeons. They buy an array of fragrances, gels, mousses, hair highlights, and teeth whiteners. Gone are the days of mere Brylcreem and Old Spice. As a result, Gillette may not be cutting prices for women's razors, but instead pushing up prices for men's grooming products. Male vanity is no longer left to peacocks. Stay tuned for new campaigns for marketing to men.

Unethical journalism in the Vancouver Sun

General

2004-12-14 11:39:11

Today's Vancouver Sun carries a story about a little girl who unknowingly ingested water mixed with GHB, a street drug. The girl's father left the water bottle on the counter overnight.

Police have recommended a charge of criminal negligence, but prosecutors have not formally charged the man. Vancouver Police have not identified him, in order to protect the girl and her brother.

Yet The Vancouver Sun has provided sufficient details that anyone with a grasp of Google can identify the man. The paper describes his house colour, size, lot, items in the front yard, and the general neighbourhood. The Sun article provides details about the man's car, including windshield stickers, and an item in the backseat. Moreover, the report notes that the man has a website resume -- then proceeds to describe details of his work history, career timeline, hobbies, and other experiences.

With details from the newspaper story, I was able to use Google to pull up an extremely relevant web resume within five to 10 seconds. I won't identify the man or his website address, because it would be unethical to do so.

In comparison, by providing such detailed information about the man, The Vancouver Sun has guaranteed embarassment for him and for his family. The paper could be excused if its news coverage offered benefits to the public or to the man's children. But The Sun did not justify its reasons for exposing the man. Both the police and Ministry of Children and Family Services are already involved, and the story does not suggest that the man is a risk to the general public. The man has not been charged and police say that identifying him would result in a loss of protection for his children. As a result, the Sun's coverage is gratuitous, immature and unethical.

Update:

I'm suspicious that The Sun intentionally set up the GHB man so that he could be found via Google. I tried searching for keywords from my own resume and from those of other people in Vancouver, and I wasn't able to pull up the right resumes. I suspect The Sun's staff spent some time experimenting with keywords that would be sure to push the resume (complete with street address, email and phone number) to the top of eeds to describe details of his work history, career timeline, hobbies, and other experiences.

Update:

Trackbacks:

HeyJo

Darren Barefoot

Cafe Digital

Santa, the master marketer

Strategy

2004-12-13 21:05:54

Santa knows marketing.

Formerly a European saint, Santa branched into the gift market in 1804, through a partnership with the New York Historical Society. Working with society member Washington Irving in 1809, Santa managed to gain notoriety through mention in a history of New York, an annual banquet, and several anecdotes. Before long, everyone knew Santa's target market (children) and his product offering (toys).

In 1822, New Yorker Clement Moore penned a story for his children, now known by its opening line, "T'was the night before Christmas...." Through this story, Santa set customer expectations and popularized his delivery system, complete with miniature sleigh, eight reindeer, and a little old driver.

Already a savvy international marketer -- known throughout Europe as Pere Noel, St. Nicholas, Sinter Klaas, Christkindlein, and Kriss Kringle -- Santa sought to expand his US presence. To foster market acceptance and brand loyalty, in 1866, Santa had a caricaturist from Harper's magazine release pictures of a bearded man dressed in fur from head to toe. Throughout the late 1800s, Santa experimented with a variety of costumes, including red, blue, green and purple suits. An 1885 Christmas card of a red-suited Santa became extremely popular, and soon became the predominate image of Santa.

During a market downturn in the 1930s, Santa partnered with Coca-Cola, which was looking to spur product sales during winter, a slow time. Although most ads of the day were in black and white, the Coca-Cola ads featured red and white, making the holiday season ads, billboards, and in-store displays stand out. Through the ad campaign, both Santa and Coca-Cola broadened their share of the children's market.

As the years passed, Santa embraced new marketing programs, including product placement and event marketing. He now appears in feature films, department store parades, and shopping mall displays. Santa uses the opportunities to increase market awareness, gain customer feedback, and take shipment requests.

In addition to asking his market -- children -- for wish lists, Santa also operates a mail order program, in cooperation with Canada Post. His team of elves handles fulfillment, but Santa personally makes deliveries on a single shipment date, December 25th. Children make payment by leaving milk and cookies -- Santa pioneered alternative currencies long before Canadian Tire thought to do so.

Finally, like other smart marketers, Santa uses customer value management. By mining customer data, Santa divides customers into "naughty" and "nice" categories. He then delivers service accordingly, ensuring his high-value customers provide the greatest rewards. Santa stands at the top of the marketing heap.

How to find a girlfriend (or a market)

Market Research

2004-12-10 22:41:59

Customers and new marketers often ask me how to identify and research target markets. Today, via Darren Barefoot, I stumbled across "Why I Will Never Have a Girlfriend" by Tristan Miller, a Canadian research scientist who works for the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence. His article, which originally appeared in the The Annals of Improbable Research, analyzes the odds that Miller will ever find a girlfriend. However, it provides many insights that apply to market research.

Instead of "brooding over [his] lack of luck" with his target market, Miller identifies his criteria for a successful match. He then identifies potential markets with these characteristics, tightening his focus, based on research findings. When he faces intangible characteristics, such as "beauty", he finds a way to create a formula, then justifies his decision. Finally, he maps the target market's needs to his solution (a relationship with him). Through this analysis, Miller sizes his target market at 18,726.

However, Miller's experience as a scientist -- and not a marketer -- shows when he determines that it will take 67 years for him to meet one of those women. He bases his marketing plan on just one tactic -- a weekly blind date. To achieve a return on investment within a reasonable time frame, Miller should develop a full marketing strategy, complete with campaigns and lead management systems. By building awareness, cultivating interest, stimulating desire, and prompting action, Miller could find a match in a much shorter time. Perhaps he should consider enlisting the help of a Vancouver marketing consultant....

Market research with Google Scholar

Market Research

2004-12-10 13:23:19

Google recently launched Google Scholar, a search engine for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports. By special arrangement, Google's spiders index content from open and password-protected sites. However, unless users have a subscription to protected sites, they can't read those articles.

When I need to analyze consumer trends, predict market growth, or compute market share, I usually turn to journal databases and journals, not just the Internet. My access to databases usually includes access to journal articles, so I'm ahead of Google Scholar users. Still, Google Scholar is in beta, so the company may simply be testing the technology before working out deals with journals, universities, libraries, and research organizations.

Canadian Tire guy and Canadian Tire money

General

2004-12-02 19:16:35

CIBC customers got a big surprise when a bank machine in New Brunswick spat out Canadian Tire money this week. The bank, already under fire for faxing private documents to a West Virginia junkyard, suspects a business customer put the money into a cash drop. No word on the suspects, who must "Spend like Santa; save like Scrooge."

In other Canadian Tire news, the "Canadian Tire guy" has tied Ben Mulroney for first place in The Globe and Mail's list of the Top 10 Most Irritating Canadians. (See also subscription-free Google News link.) Although I wasn't aware of the vote, which was overshadowed by CBC's The Greatest Canadian series, I have often wondered who's in the test audiences for Canadian Tire commercials and eTalk Daily broadcasts. At least, I hope they test these things.

Blog named word of the year

General

2004-12-02 11:48:30

Merriam Webster has named "blog" the word of the year, based on requests for definitions at its online dictionary. Other words in the top 10 reflect top news stories, such as the US election, Florida hurricanes, and Iraq War. The bizarre entry, "defenestration", seemingly stems from political hara kiri or Unix manuals.

Hockey strike sends advertisers scrambling

Strategy

2004-11-28 21:45:58

The NHL hockey drought has advertisers scrambling, says the New York Times. Advertisters are at a loss when it comes to finding ways to connect with men, who tend not to tune to other shows in big numbers. They may want to take a hint from advertisers of products for teens and twentysomethings, who've learned to use stealth marketing and cool hunting to connect with teens. The advent of Tivo, Bit Torrent, MP3s, email and instant messaging means advertisers have lost opportunities to market to youth through traditional channels, such as radio and TV. That's why teams of youth marketers show up to hand out goodies on Robson Street, in movie theatres, and at concerts. Advertisers may start exploiting similar subversive marketing tactics to reach men.

Numeracy counts in marketing

Strategy

2004-11-26 13:56:15

Marketers have lost credibility in recent years, says a story in The London Telegraph. And that's because most marketers lack commercial skills, such as "tough-minded numeracy", profit responsibility, financial analysis, and international business.

But how many marketers have those skills? As an open career field, marketing has multiple entry points. Marketers do not complete a prescribed course of study. And many shy away from any sort of market research, number-crunching, or financial analysis. That's a shame, because marketing has the potential to drive revenues, cut costs, and improve profitability.

Many marketers specialize in communications, event management, web marketing, and direct mail -- subfields that support promotions, one of the "4 P's" of marketing. Although most of these roles focus on creative and logistics skills, successful promotions specialists need to calculate return on investment, set budgets, and understand market research.

And promotions represents just one of the "4 P's" of marketing. To make decisions about product, place, and price, marketers need strong numeracy skills. Calculus, algebra, and arithmatic should be at the disposal of anyone trying to size, value, and tackle a market. Otherwise, marketers end up basing their decisions on instinct, not analysis. Instinct may help with creative applications, such as advertising, but it won't help a company determine where to put its money and resources.

Canadian firm chomps religious cheese sandwich

General Marketing

2004-11-25 00:37:11

A Canadian gaming company handed over $28,000 today for a 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich purported to bear the Virgin Mary's image. The company purchased the sandwich through an eBay auction that made headlines around the world.

And it's those headlines that likely prompted the company (which I'll avoid naming) to make the bid. Google News already shows 434 stories about the toastie's fate. MSNBC, BBC, The Telegraph, and hundreds of other media outlets have broadcast the winning company's name, which conveniently happens to be a .com. Given the widespread appeal of gambling sites, the company's owners wisely calculated that $28,000 would be a bargain for worldwide media coverage. (No kidding -- a full-page ad in Maclean's costs $32,000!) Not to be deterred by non-gamblers, the company's hawking t-shirts and other novelties through an online store.

Fire your customers

Strategy

2004-11-19 00:37:33

Ars Technica claims Best Buy -- which owns Future Shop -- wants to fire 20 percent of its customers. Some of those customers buy products, cash in on rebates, return the products for refund, then buy them later, at discounted prices. Still others buy discounted loss leaders to resell on eBay.

I'm surprised this hasn't been widely covered in the media before. In the past, I've picked up discounted software that still qualifies for a rebate. In fact, on one occasion, the rebate was $15 and I only paid $5 for the software. I actually earned $10 by buying the software and applying for a rebate. I remember thinking that I should buy up all the stock and sell it on eBay. However, seeing just a few copies on the shelf, I couldn't be bothered. Apparently, some people can.

Customers who focus on loss leaders and make frequent returns cost companies money. By integrating point-of-sale systems with customer relationship management (CRM) systems, companies can identify "bad" customers, then exclude them from marketing promotions. Companies can instead offer loss leaders, coupons, rebates and other goodies to high-value customers. By focusing on the lifetime value of customers -- instead of simply making a sale -- companies can increase revenues from their best customers and fire the customers who cost them money.

Measuring the value of marketing

General Marketing

2004-11-16 14:52:33

Wondering about your return on investment for marketing? Check out this Business Week article on marketing metrics. The article notes that many marketers casually toss around terms like lifetime value and ROI without any real understanding of their meaning or application. Often touted as creative types, many marketers resist using metrics for their marketing programs and campaigns. That may be okay if you're dealing with a graphic designer or copywriter, but, if you're asking your marketer(s) to plan strategies and campaigns, you need people who can crunch numbers and deliver the creative goods. Otherwise, you have to wonder where your marketing money is going. Marketing means more than just marketing communications.

Vancouver Olympics launches ambush counterstrike

Strategy

2004-11-08 11:55:28

The Vancouver Olympic Committee has moved strategically to secure advertising space for its official sponsors, reports The Vancouver Sun. Organizers hope to counter ambush marketing by competitors of sponsors. During the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Pepsi scooped Coke, an official sponsor and home town company, by locking up all available advertising. Likewise, Nike handed out banners just outside the stadiums, thwarting the efforts of Adidas, the official sponsor.

Vancouver isn't the first Olympic city to counter ambush marketing. During the 2000 Games in Sydney, stadium staff confiscated Pepsi cans from specators, in an effort to preserve Coke's role as official sponsor. BBC News cites several examples of ambush marketing at past Olympic Games.

In Athens, official sponsors chose not to use up all available advertising space, so billboards and other media sometimes lacked advertising. Although the Vancouver Olympic Committee insists its sponsors will fill up all available media space, perhaps they could consider donating unused billboard and media time to Vancouver Legacies charities. The Games are still five years away, so only time will tell.

Olympia Restaurant trademark dispute

The Bachelor showcases BC tourism

General

2004-10-29 16:28:21

The Bachelor in BC? I stumbled across this news release while reviewing some market research studies on the BC Tourism website. Vancouver and Whistler will appear in next week's episode of The Bachelor. Byron, the bachelor, will bring a date to Vancouver for a rooftop dinner at the Hotel Vancouver and a stop at the Chateau Whistler. The Canadian Tourism Commission, Tourism BC, Tourism BC, Tourism Whistler, Air Canada and Fairmont Hotels teamed up to court the producers of the ABC show. They're hush-hush about whether money exchanged hands, but paid placement is hardly news for reality shows these days.

Never one to play the fool, Fairmont Hotels has launched RomanceinBC.com. Once the show airs (and the apparent mystique lifts), the site will feature packages that recreate experiences from The Bachelor. It's hardly the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg (I'll admit I succumbed), but the Vancouver-Whistler placement just might pay off -- consider The Bachelor a one-hour ad for BC, as part of the lead up to 2010.

Technology diffusion expert dies

General

2004-10-28 00:35:24

Everett M. Rogers, a pioneer in research into how and why people adopt new technologies, has died at age 73. Best known for developing his Diffusion of Innovations theory, Rogers published 30 books and more than 500 articles. He applied his research to health communication projects around the world, often inspiring people interested in marketing new products and concepts.

Rogers claimed that adopters of any new innovation would fall into the categories of innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. For each person, their willingness and ability to take up an innovation would depend on their awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, and adoption. He showed these innovations would spread through society in an S curve.

Rogers' research laid the foundation for works like Geoffrey Moore's Crossing the Chasm, the famous guide to how and why technology companies succeed. Although I never met the man, I've respected his work for many years, citing it in my marketing plans (as recently as this morning), my blog and even my Executive MBA thesis. I'll continue to draw from his work, showing, in a small way, how ideas spread throughout society.

Rogers suffered from kidney disease and retired from the University of New Mexico this past summer.

Bodybreak couple's secret revealed

General

2004-10-23 20:32:31

Do you know Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod from those Bodybreak commercials? For years, I've heard rumours about their relationship -- apparent fodder for bored Canadians, even this Vancouver marketing consultant. In the past few months, I'd heard the fitness pundits had divorced, since neither seemed to appear in the same scene in recent commercials. With each new Bodybreak commercial, I -- and apparently many other Canadian viewers -- wondered about the secret of this couple.

Today, CBC Radio's DNTO interviewed Johnson and McLeod, revealing that, in addition to being business partners, the duo married five years ago. Why the 16-year secret? Apparently early TV execs felt that the 1988 public was not yet ready for an integrated relationship -- 40 agencies rejected the show, before the Canadian government picked up Bodybreak for its Participaction promotions. Although the public has "overwhelmingly" accepted the couple, Johnson and McLeod have been subject to slurs and death threats. Nevertheless, the Bodybreak brand has expanded over the years to include fitness products, books, videos and even a restaurant. Johnson and McLeod have also gradually introduced persons with disabilities, persons of colour, and other under-represented groups to their shows.

Both Johnson and McLeod excel in several sports and bring charisma and business experience to their work. A former Team Canada baseball player, Hal Johnson grew up listening to his father's stories about playing on the same team as Hank Aaron in the Negro Baseball League. Young Johnson was a seventh round draft pick for Cincinnati. Joanne McLeod was a Canadian national champion for track and field who went on to be a fitness expert for Toronto cable TV shows. The two met in a Toronto gym and, within a month of meeting, launched Bodybreak.

Shining examples of entrepreneurship, Bodybreak's founders provide tips for starting a small business. But their own success is a fine example for other entrepreneurs. Success comes from following your own path, even whether others disagree.

Grocers boost revenues with passive cross-sell

General

2004-10-20 14:17:19

This week, I dashed into Safeway to pick up some paper towels. While standing in the aisle, I noticed that the left side held tissue, paper towels, and other essential sundries. On the right side, I found impulse buys, such as chips, pop, nuts, and popcorn. Brilliant.

Safeway obviously realizes that, when customers pop into the store to pick up necessities, they're not planning a major shopping excursion. By placing impulse buys in the same aisle as low-ticket basic necessities, Safeway captures impluse buys, capturing more revenue from an otherwise small sale. Call it passive cross-selling.

Another oft-cited example comes from the United States, where a major retailer mined their data warehouses and discovered that most of their diaper sales were to men who purchased no other items. Presumably, the men had run to the store at night, desperate to pick up diapers, while their spouses stayed home with squalling babies. The retailer analyzed its data, and determined that, in general, men were the most likely customers to purchase beer. So the retailer put baby diapers in the same aisle as beer. When men pulled a big box of diapers from the shelf, they turned around and grabbed a six-pack with their free hand. As a result, the American retailer grew the cash register value per diaper buyer.

Large companies often use customer relationship management (CRM) systems and data warehouses to determine marketing strategies like these. However, even small companies can grow the value of transaction per customer. Small companies should consider how to meet the whole needs of the customer, then cross-sell products that meet those needs.

Pushing buttons in the buyer's brain

General

2004-10-19 16:39:30

Can advertisers push buttons in your brain to make you buy? A study reported in The New York Times suggests that advertisers can highjack your brain circuits for memory, decision-making and self image.

Neuromarketing is a controversial practice and I can't say I've ever applied it in creating ads or campaigns. However, understanding buyer behaviour remains key to the success of your business. Few customers are ready to buy, call, or register now. Customers may be unaware that they have a problem, that there are solutions to a problem, or that your company produces a solution that can help them. Sophisticated buyers, such as those in business, may even play different roles -- influencing decision-makers, signing budgets, or taking responsibility for a buying decision.

Marketers often talk about moving a customer through AIDA -- a cycle aimed at attracting customers, developing their interest, building their desire, and stimulating action. In reality, the buying cycle can be a complex process. If you're not selling products classified as impulse buys -- chocolate bars and potato chips -- you may need to manage customers through long, involved buying processes. Aim to map your marketing strategies and tools to your customer's place in the buying cycle. In developing your marketing plan, consider how you will target customers in different stages of the buying cycle -- and how you'll support them in moving to the next stage. With good strategies and tools, you can convert window-shopping prospects into repeat customers.

Indie film marketing applies to any firm

General

2004-10-05 15:25:07

Vancouver film director Lisa Jackson has found success with guerilla marketing of her short documentary Suckerfish. Jackson's film premiered at Hot Docs this April, and has since screened at festivals in Edinburgh, Melbourne, Toronto and Vancouver -- with scheduled screenings in Detroit, New York, and other cities.

As an independent film maker, Jackson markets her film without the deep pockets of a major studio. Drawing from her background in communication, Jackson has tapped into film-making listserves to promote Suckerfish. She hands out Suckerfish postcards and "one-sheets" (fact sheets) at screenings and film festivals. Her website also offers a video clip and stills.

I mention Jackson and Suckerfish because the film's success shows that marketing is more about strategic efforts and creativity than big budgets and glossy materials. With a clear direction and good ideas, even a small organization can gain the attention of customers and the media.

Vancouver MBA programs

General

2004-10-03 22:39:40

Several people have asked me about Vancouver MBA programs. Accredited, recognized MBA programs in Vancouver include:

Simon Fraser University (SFU) Executive MBA for seasoned managers

SFU Global Asset & Wealth Management MBA

SFU Management of Technology MBA

SFU Specialist MBA

UBC MBA

Queen's Executive MBA

Many people have asked me to explain why I chose the SFU Executive MBA over other programs. My reasons:

A real classroom with real people. Some other MBA programs are delivered through television monitors, meaning classmates and professors are scattered across the country. In distance programs, you only meet people "online". In comparison, with the SFU EMBA, I shared classes, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drinks with students and professors who live in my city.

Experienced participants. My classmates had a minimum of six years of management experience. The average age was 37. Most MBA programs only require students to have two years of experience. It's a lot easier to discuss business issues, such as mergers or sales fluctuations, if your classmates can speak from experience, not a textbook.

Professors with practical experience. As Canada's first EMBA program, SFU has pioneered executive education. EMBA professors have real world experience -- my professors' past titles include CFO, venture capital firm owner, IT consultant, management consultant, product manager, and HR manager. And, unlike many universities, SFU hires professors with both research AND teaching abilities.

Work and learn format. SFU's EMBA requires participants to work full-time during the program. This meant I could continue consulting and use my "real" work in assignments. Rather than waiting two years to test what I'd learned, I was able to try new concepts right away. (Yet the SFU EMBA is designated full-time, so you're still getting an immersive experience with full-time tax incentives.)

Reputation. As a five-time winner in the annual Maclean's university rankings, SFU has a solid reputation. I felt distance and private MBA programs could not offer the same credibility.

Return on investment. I analyzed program costs and anticipated career gains. In my case, SFU won out.

Of course, the decision to pursue an MBA, let alone a specific MBA, is personal. The factors I considered may or may not apply to your situation. However, if you're considering a Vancouver MBA program, ask potential programs about their classroom, participants, professors, work/learn opportunities, and potential return on investment. As for reputation, ask people you trust -- not the school.

How to send email without really spamming

General

2004-09-30 11:16:13

Thinking of sending commercial email? Check the law before you click "send". If your email turns out to be spam, you can face significant risks and penalties.

By sending unwanted commercial email, you may annoy potential customers, losing sales and relationship opportunities. Email providers, such as Telus, Shaw or Yahoo may add you to their junk mail filters, preventing even your legitimate emails from reaching their destinations. Your ISP and web host may shut down your email and web hosting, causing you embarassment, lost responses from interested customers, and an administrative headache. Under US CAN-SPAM regulations, you could be fined or jailed. And, if you send deceptive email, you could be charged under laws that ban false and misleading advertising.

Don't assume that your email recipients are just individuals. If a lawyer puts together a class action suit, your individual email recipients may represent a major court challenge.

Under CAN-SPAM, you must follow these rules:

Use accurate header information that includes the originating domain name, email address and the person who sent the email.

Stick to truthful subject lines. You may not mislead the recipient about the contents or subject of the message.

Allow recipients to opt-out. You must provide a return email address or Internet-based response form that lets the recipient tell you not to send messages to them at that address. You must honour their request. You can give recipients a menu of choices, in case they wish to continue receiving some messages, but you must allow them to end all commercial messages.

Process opt-outs within 10 days. You must also be able to process opt-out requests for a 30-day period after you sent the commercial email.

End all commercial email. You may not help other entities send email to that address or have other parties send email on your behalf. You may not sell or transfer email addresses of people who have opted out -- unless you're doing it to help another party make sure they do not send email to people who have opted out. For example, if you teamed with Microsoft to do a joint promotion, you could give Microsoft your list of opted-out addresses, so that they can be purged from the mailing.

Identify your commercial email as an advertisement.

Include your valid physical postal address.

Follow those rules, and you're essentially free to send commercial email. But violate those rules and you could find yourself in big trouble. And, if you think you're safe in Canada, don't be so sure. Can you be certain that your messages do not find their way to a US-based ISP or recipient? Moreover, Canada's PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act) could be interpreted to apply to commercial email. Canada is working on anti-spam laws, but PIPEDA could cause your company a headache in the meantime.

Email marketing packages - tips and tricks
Vancouver direct mail from Readers Digiest
Vancouver direct mail from Readers Digest again
Email marketing advice

RSS featured in My Yahoo! beta

General

2004-09-29 16:33:56

The beta version of My Yahoo! features RSS feeds, allowing users to choose their own content. In the past, the My Yahoo! page offered a range of news, financial streams, comic, and web tools. The new portal turns My Yahoo! into a web-based RSS aggregator. RSS is an XML syndication technology, frequently used for syndicating content, such as news or blog posts.

My RSS feed is available at www.andreacoutu.com/page/rssfeed.

Market research counts for The Daily Show and Fox

General

2004-09-28 14:04:05

Add this to your list of times when assumptions are knocked out by market research -- viewers of Comedy Central's Daily Show with Jon Stewart have more education and political knowledge than viewers of Fox News' O'Reilly Factor. Daily Show viewers also report higher incomes.

Bill O'Reilly recently called Jon Stewart's viewers "stoned slackers". His O'Reilly Factor is the top-ranked news show in the United States. Bill O'Reilly has worked in journalism for 30 years, and holds masters degrees from Boston University and Harvard, as well as an honorary doctorate from Marist College.

Comedian Jon Stewart, who holds a degree from the College of William and Mary, was best known for his roles in Big Daddy and The Larry Sanders Show before taking over the news satire anchor position at The Daily Show in 1999.

During the Republican National Convention, more people tuned into The Daily Show for Bush's speech than CNN or MSNBC. However, Fox News attracted twice as many viewers as The Daily Show did.

This just goes to show that a little market research can dispel seemingly accurate assumptions about markets. Existing advertisers on The Daily Show and O'Reilly Factor may tweak their messaging to better meet audience demographics. New advertisers may emerge, while others depart. However, given that Daily Show viewers are still overwhelmingly young, it's unlikely that advertisers will march over from O'Reilly Factor. Market research can help blow away assumptions, but success still comes down to target markets, positioning and delivery.

Site note: individual posts now linkable

General

2004-09-26 17:31:01

Just a quick note to say that I've added a new feature to my blog. Effective immediately, you can access any post on an individual page -- this is handy for anyone seeking to link to an individual post. To pull up a post on a single page, just click on the corresponding header.

Thanks to the folks at Marketese for making the request (and for including me in their latest blog round-up).

JPEGs pose security risk

General

2004-09-14 12:43:47

For years, many Windows users have been exchanging pictures with friends and family, happily clicking away at JPEGs with the belief that they were virus-free. Today, Microsoft warned users that its JPEG-processing utilities have a security hole that allows hackers to run remote code. Ouch.

Keep your computer safe -- update your Windows sytem. Visit Microsoft's page on the JPEG flaw or open Internet Explorer, select Tools, and click Windows Update. Better safe than sorry.

China opens to advertisers next year

General

2004-09-09 14:34:35

China will open its doors to the world's advertisers by 2005, says a Chinese government official. This will provide Canadian companies with better access to Chinese markets.

I've been watching the Chinese market since I developed a set of "Exporting to Asia" factsheets for Agriculture Canada in the mid-1990s. I initially created the factsheets after noticing stacks and stacks of unused research reports at the regional Agriculture Canada office. The factsheets have since been expanded to other regions of the world, although I'm pleased to see that they've been updated, as the China agri-food factsheet indicates. (I note that they've introduced some typos, too.)

China was more of a test market when I was researching and writing the reports -- today, it's a member of the World Trade Organization and many trade barriers have been lifted. And, far from being a market for just agri-foods, China now offers opportunities for a wide range of products. Given that the US and Canadian markets combined represent just 5% of the world's population, companies should consider growing through exports and marketing in China, where 19% of the world's population lives.

Baghdad Blogger featured at Vancouver Film Fest

General

2004-09-03 12:32:46

The Baghdad Blogger will be a guest at this year's Vancouver International Film Festival. Known by the pseudonym Salam Pax ("Hello Peace"), the young Iraqi started an online diary in September 2002. His English blog detailed everything from his daily life to criticisms of the Iraqi government -- an act that could have led to his execution. When the Iraq War started, Salam Pax attracted a worldwide following, as readers turned to him for one citizen's story of the war. Now a columnist for The Guardian, Salam Pax will show his documentary, Baghdad Blogger/Salam Pax, at the Vancouver International Film Festival.

Blogging has opened the doors for communication that sidesteps the filters of usual gatekeepers. For citizen journalists, this means unfettered access to the public. But, for businesses, blogging poses an opportunity to sidestep media editors and analysts, as well as the confines of direct mail and 30-second ad spots. How interesting, then, that The Guardian and film festivals have taken note.

Blogging conference planned for Vancouver

General

2004-09-02 16:26:40

Interested in learning how a corporate blog can help your business grow? Check out Northern Voice, a Canadian blogging conference coming to Vancouver this February. Registration just opened and the first 25 people to sign up receive a free t-shirt.

Asynchronous Olympics coverage

General

2004-08-30 23:39:15

In today's 24-hour news network world, do Olympics viewers care if they're watching live events? No, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. NBC packaged broadcasts so that it seemed as though matches and races were unfolding live before the viewing audience. Although this technique bombed in Sydney four years ago, TV viewership was up 13 percent for the Athens Olympics. However, consider these numbers with a grain of salt. The Globe and Mail notes that NBC's audience share is up nine percent, while CBC's share rose 10 percent over Sydney -- CBC provided live, multi-event broadcasts. Whatever the case, people seem to be adjusting to a world dominated by CNN news crawls. It looks like we can handle seeing the headlines a million times, as long as we can see the clips for ourselves. However, given broadcast bans on web clips, it's still possible that viewers would rather access video on their own terms.

Social capital for the wealthy

General

2004-08-29 20:11:13

CBS Marketwatch has some tips for ensuring the grandkids don't blow their inheritance. According to the article, wealthy families can ensure the success of their offspring by taking steps to preserve both financial and social capital. If you're wondering how you can build social capital (and maybe just all-round wealth), check out Entrepreneur's tips. Far from a subject for the elite, social capital is valuable to the fabric of communities and can help people escape poverty. The World Bank now focuses on helping nations build social capital so they can reduce disease, increase access to education, better use financial markets, and manage market economies.

Distribution key to marketing success

General

2004-08-25 11:20:15

As I've mentioned in my last two entries, many people confuse marketing with communications, advertising and public relations. Any decent marketing strategy will include those promotions programs -- and address product, price, and place decisions.

"Place" or "distribution" is often over-looked by small businesses. This marketing "P" deals with putting the product in the customer's hands. Transactions, logistics, market coverage, channel partners, and service levels come into play. In looking at "place", a company needs to consider its core competencies, role in the supply chain, and customer needs. With this in mind, the firm can consider what distribution channels to use, how many channel partners to involve, control of the channel, formality of channel partnerships, and costs involved with filling the sales pipeline.

In the rush to take a new product to market, many small businesses make intuitive distribution decisions. However, by analyzing the market, a firm can better position itself for success.

For example, a biomedical company asked me for help with their sales and marketing. Although it was several years old, the firm was struggling to penetrate the market and drive up sales. After reviewing the company's core competencies, customer preferences, and competitive environment, I recommended the firm partner with medical product sales agents. By working with these sales agents, the company gained access to those agents' established relationships with hospitals. The agents were able to offer the company's products as part of a range of solutions and could promote the products while on sales calls for other products. This made it easier to capture the minds of busy hospital staff, who were previously resistant to cold calls from the biomedical firm. Today, the biomedical company markets almost all of its products through channel partners. And, although it gives sales agents a 30 to 40 percent cut, the firm saves because has reduced costs associated with sales calls, travel, trade shows, direct mail, and promotions. More importantly, the firm makes more sales than it could before, which makes investors happy.

Whether your company is well established or just starting out, be sure to include distribution in your analysis and planning.

To market a product, build the product

General

2004-08-20 10:27:55

In my last post, I noted that marketing means more than just communications. A friend sent me an InternetNews.com article on how blogs are set to destroy marketing as we know it. The article suggests that marketing departments will succumb to unfiltered blogging, since companies can syndicate communications to their customers, partners and employees.

But marketing means more than just communication -- although most people probably think of brochures, ads, and websites when they think "marketing". True marketing involves business analysis that shapes product, price, promotion, and place (distribution).

Product designers, programmers, and engineers might raise an eyebrow to thoughts of marketers building products. That's because most of us think of products as physical items. Marketers see products as whole solutions to customer problems. Every product feature should be mapped to a customer need. A real product includes the brand, quality, packaging, service, support, warranty, and guarantee.

For example, Dell sells more than just computers. To help buyers buy, Dell has hired customer service reps who can help buyers navigate the purchasing process. To reduce buyer remorse, it offers a next-day, on-site service plan and online technical support. To keep costs low for buyers, Dell uses a just-in-time inventory program, where customers pay for the product before it is ever built; this provides Dell with a negative cash-conversion cycle, too. Dell also offers warranties, helping to build consumer confidence. In marketing computers, Dell considers all the elements necessary to providing customers with a whole product.

Leading companies consider all the elements needed to bring a product to market. Price, promotion, and place (distribution) figure into the mix, too. If you're only working with a marketing communications professional, consider whether you could build revenues and cut costs by looking at the entire marketing mix.

Marketing means more than marketing communications

General

2004-08-12 13:41:09

For many small businesses, their first contact with marketing comes when they need a brochure, website, or trade journal ad. After finding a graphic designer, web developer, copywriter or marketing communications guru, these companies focus their marketing efforts on branding and messaging. In some cases, these companies are unaware of other marketing programs -- and graphic designers, web developers, copywriters, and marcom professionals have little incentive to steer them to other areas.

Although marketing communications tools form an important part of any firm's arsenal, they're far from a blanket solution. True marketing looks at connecting buyers and sellers in a mutually beneficial way.

From the seller's viewpoint, marketing should result in prospects, leads, and sales -- and improvements to both the top and bottom lines. Marketing should translate into media hits, website traffic, tradeshow visitors, incoming phone calls, direct mail responses, and other interest. Marketing should also convert prospective customers to sales leads, actual sales, repeat customers, and customer references. That means never losing sight of customer acquisition costs, conversion rates, customer lifetime values, and sales figures.

For a seller to achieve those results, it's important to meet the buyer's needs. The buyer doesn't care about the seller or the seller's products. The buyer cares about his or her own perceived problems -- and the potential solutions to those problems.

In pitching a product as a solution to buyer problems, the seller needs to consider the factors that would make that product a whole solution. This means more than just building a product or printing glossy brochures. For a complete solution, the seller considers product, price, promotion, and place -- the four P's of marketing. Next time, I'll discuss ways successful companies meet buyer needs by managing each element of the marketing mix.

New textbook features my business article

General

2004-08-05 13:36:13

A business article I wrote for Realm Magazine will be featured in a Canadian university textbook. The article, which has been translated into French, outlines steps to writing a successful business plan, while telling the tale of a Calgary clothing manufacturer now known as Body Blocker Co. My 2-page article appears on pages 108-9, followed by 4.5 pages of discussion and comprehension questions.

Published by Pearson Education and written by Favrod/Morrison, Mise en Pratique retails for $69.95. Pearson has set the print run at 3,000.

Dairy Queen defends Moolatte

General

2004-08-04 16:30:30

I recently received an email from International Dairy Queen's director of product and brand marketing. Dairy Queen wanted to address my blog on Moolatte. According to Dairy Queen's representative, "We love the MooLatte' name and are having excellent success with the product. The name is not a play on words. The confusion seems to be coming from people who can't pronounce the name (MOO + LA + TAY) and are confusing it with mulatto."

I certainly don't have difficulty pronouncing Moolatte. It's impossible to live in Vancouver and not know how to pronounce "latte", with or without the acute accent. If some people are pronouncing Moolatte "mulatto", then the case is more unfortunate than I originally thought.

Dairy Queen also defended the brand name's origins; "The origins of the brand name are pretty simple: Moo represents cows / dairy and Latte' represents coffee + milk." (Presumably, the apostrophe is an attempt at emphasizing the accent over the e.)

The director of marketing also pointed me to a blog from a naming consultancy that claims consumers don't deconstruct brands. (I've since confirmed with IDQ that this consultancy is not affiliated with Dairy Queen or its parent and sibling companies.) DQ's spokesperson also added, "I liked your blog and can confirm that 'few people are having a cow' :)"

However, there are already 94 Google-indexed articles on Moolatte and mulatto. Apparently, almost 100 people found the wordplay, intentional or not, to be worthy of a blog entry. And the Houston Chronicle, commented on the brand name, pointing readers back to the original Slate article. Of course, 100 people do not a revolution make. And the above article on consumer brand deconstructionism is right. Most people do not deconstruct brand names.

But some people do. And, when those people have the attention of web surfers, newspaper readers, and email recipients, small amounts of brand deconstructionism can add up. For example, Snapple was hit hard by 1990s rumours about the circle-K on its logo. Because few people realized that the K stood for "Kosher", Snapple fell prey to rumours about KKK affiliations. Coke also fights rumours about terrorist affiliations.

However, it all comes down to how the company manages the brand situation. In IDQ's case, the company's marketing department is patrolling the web and contacting bloggers to let them know the company's side of the story. In contacting me, IDQ was polite, professional and even complimentary. By acting quickly, IDQ can snuff out some inflammatory consumer reaction. The Dairy Queen Moolatte site is the top Google response for "Moolatte mulatto" -- it looks like Dairy Queen recognizes the value of paid placement and search engine optimization. Although I remain unconvinced that Dairy Queen never intended to engage in wordplay, the company appears to have a good grasp of how to monitor and respond to online activity. Perhaps other companies will look and learn.

Google loses Froogles battle

General

2004-07-26 22:07:57

Google's right to call its online shopping service "Froogle" may be in jeopardy. Last Friday, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) rejected Google's claim that a competiting website, Froogles.com, infringed on the Google trademark.

Froogles.com, a search engine for free stuff, pre-dates Google's registration of the Froogle.com domain. Froogles probably refers to the people who seek out free goods and services -- frugals or "froogles". Froogles.com is owned by a disabled carpenter from New York State.

In a separate but related issue, the owner of Froogles.com has challenged Google's attempt to register "Froogle" as a trademark with the US Intellectual Property Office. Froogles claims Google's "Froogle" infringes the pre-existing Froogles mark.

Why all the fuss? Companies depend on their brand identities to help buyers quickly and easily identify their products and services. A trusted brand instills buyer confidence and generates equity for all products in the family. If a company's trademark is confused with that of another firm, the brand equity may erode. If the trademark becomes generic, as with "trampoline" spring equipment, "zipper" slide fastener or "dry ice" coolant, the company may lose its investment in marketing and brand equity.

Companies need to police their trademarks, servicemarks, copyrights, and other intellectual properties. Although many companies carefully set out user agreements, non-disclosure agreements, trademark applications, and escrow provisions, many overlook marketing tools. Brochures, websites, news releases, product packaging and other materials often include intellectual properties. Down the road, these materials can help establish credibility for prior use, likelihood of confusion, strength of mark, intention of use, and other trademark disputes. Marketing and customer management reporting can also help establish the intent of a mark, consumer confusion, and the market's perceived value of trademarks.

Aside from investing in legal resources, companies should make sure their marketing managers, copywriters, designers, and consultants have intellectual property management training and experience. Ask your in-house and freelance marketers what steps they take to protect your intellectual property. If you receive a stunned look, start digging.

Moolatte -- no, no

General

2004-07-17 19:03:13

Dairy Queen's latest creation, the Moolatte, is creating a stir. Aimed at drawing frapuccino lovers to DQ, the name sounds like "mulatto".

Now, I must admit that, upon first hearing "Moolatte", my in-brain Napster engine turned on a Dean Martin rendition..."Moolatte, whoa-oh, Moolatte...oh, oh, oh, oh!" However, after seeing a couple of ads for the 600-calorie (moo, indeed) caffeine shake, I started thinking the word sounded a lot like "mulatto". Apparently, I'm not alone. Slate agrees, adding that Moolatte smacks of Aunt Jemima. I wasn't quite sure what to make of this. But I'm a Canadian and perhaps less sensitive to the word than persons from other backgrounds. The CBC seems undecided about use of the word, too.

I thought that, perhaps, Dairy Queen hoped to gain media attention for its efforts, but, as of my press time, Google shows just 35 results for "moolatte + mulatto" -- mostly blogs -- and zero results in news stories. Did DQ expect an incident-free play-on-words in crowning the new beverage? Or are the company's PR directors kicking themselves for planning a media coup that has not come to fruition -- and that they could not hype themselves without facing political fallout? So far, it seems like few people are having a cow.

Update: see next installment in this saga -- Dairy Queen defends moolatte

Search engine rankings affect website traffic

General

2004-07-14 15:12:32

Atlas DMT has released a study showing that paid search engine listings affect website traffic.

Atlas measured the trade-offs between the top 10 ranks in paid listings on search engines. The study found that, in some cases, a lower ranking may be more desirable, given the costs of supporting increased traffic. Overall, marketers should expect a 10-fold difference in potential traffic between the top and 10th rankings.

If you haven't optimized your website for search engines, you may be missing out on critical traffic. That means you're missing a valuable opportunity to communicate with potential customers. Even if you don't need to maintain a number one ranking, you might want to consider the impact of moving up one to two spots.

Want to know something?

General

2004-07-12 23:57:49

Want to know something? Check Wikipedia. You'll find 300,000 English articles -- that's five times the volume of Encyclopedia Britannica, according to The Boston Globe. And Wikipedia also offers a half-million articles in other languages.

You might expect at least a penny for Wikipedia's thoughts, but this massive online encyclopedia is free. Readers don't pay to read and writers don't receive or pay a cent for their contributions.

Of course, it's easy to understand why readers would embrace a free encyclopedia. People have been turning to the web and Internet in droves for the past several years. But why would contributors give away their knowledge?

People do it for love. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, quoted in The Boston Globe says, "We provide an outlet for people to write about what they love."

But, passions aside, why would people contribute to a non-profit encyclopedia with little opportunity for status gain? No money, no power. What's the deal?

Elsewhere in the open source galaxy, Slashdot contributor Mandalyx suggests that Wikipedia provides an outlet for memetic powerplays. As in The Selfish Gene, people contribute to Wikipedia because it gives them an opportunity to spread their point of view. By contributing to social capital, Wikipedia writers diffuse their thoughts. At the very least, they create a published record for their pet interests, validating even the obscure.

In that context, a Wikipedia article is much like a magazine article, letter to the editor, lecture, blog, or radio show caller's comments. The beauty of the wiki world, though, is that anyone can edit, re-write, or debunk those comments. For egos run amok, Wikipedia offers a cure: real-time peer editing. But, for brief seconds or weeks, Wikipedia contributors can enjoy the power of of their memes. For the successful ones, the memes will survive.

Vaccines for your marketing ails

General

2004-07-05 16:16:13

The National Business Review has an article on how "fear that immunizations were part of an American plot to make Nigerian Muslims sterile and spread HIV has led to a large outbreak of polio among children". Nigeria now accounts for 77 percent of the world's polio cases. The challenges faced by Nigerian health educators are, in many ways, similar to those faced by marketers encouraging anyone to try or use a new product, idea, or practice.

In Nigeria, immunization efforts failed because some parents more readily accepted rumours of American espionage than the teachings of health educators. According to the UN, local religious readers had alleged that Western countries were using polio vaccines to spread HIV, cancer, and infertility. In refusing to immunize their children against polio, some Nigerian parents favoured the teachings of religious leaders. As upstanding members of the community, religious leaders drew from long-term, ongoing face-to-face contact with followers, as well as the credibility of religious teachings. As a result, these Nigerian change agents were able to topple immunization programs. Religious leaders had the right mix of innovation, communication channels, timing, and social systems.

And those four points pave the way to adoption of any idea, practice or object. Everett M. Rogers's 1962 Diffusion of Innovations explains how people and societies adopt new innovations -- innovation, communication channel, timing, and social system all play roles. Drawing on the work of Gabriel Tarde and Bryce Ryan and Neal Gross, Rogers claimed that adopters of any new innovation would fall into the categories of innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. For each person, their willingness and ability to take up an innovation would depend on their awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, and adoption.

All this theory might seem, well, theoretical. But modern companies, from start-ups to the Fortune 500, consider technology adoption (or diffusion of innovation) when they build, market and sell their products. In fact, Geoffrey Moore's Crossing the Chasm draws from Rogers' findings and maps out strategies for spurring adoption of everything from software to telecommunication equipment. So, if you're having trouble getting people to buy your products, think back to the challenges faced by Nigerian health educators. Have you got the right mix of marketing tools?

Marketing Vancouver Grizzlies to Memphis fans

General

2004-06-17 15:15:22

Old Vancouver Grizzlies never die -- they just claw their way to Memphis, Tennessee.

The Vancouver Grizzlies played their last Vancouver game on April 18, 2001, later re-emerging in Tennessee. The Memphis Grizzlies unveiled their new logo in public today. Developing and marketing the new Grizzlies logo took three years of focus groups, NBA negotations, player feedback, staff surveys, trademark searches, intellectual property protection applications, and Reebok prototyping.

Focus groups revealed that Memphians wanted their team logo to represent the city, not just the team. The team and the design company cite "authenticity" as key to the process. The new logo uses "Memphis Blues" and Egyptian gold, drawing from the city's Egyptian namesake city. Grizzly bears are not native to Memphis, though, so the team has focused on symbolism: "strength, power and courage, character, tenacity and fearlessness". And, although it may seem odd to market grizzly bears in Memphis, there are few raptors in Toronto, and I doubt many people have ever seen a clipper or laker dart across a Los Angeles waterway. (If you have a moment, learn more about the history and origin of sports team names).

For any organization -- whether an NBA franchise, a start-up, an established firm, or a non-profit -- choosing a logo can be hard work. That's why it's important to choose a marketing professional with a strong background in strategy, market research, positioning, communications, vendor management and logo development. A skilled marketer can help your firm build a brand -- and a logo -- that resonates with your target market and helps you meet your business goals. From testing the logo on potential customers to working out legalities, a skilled and experienced marketer can help you manage would-be headaches. Established marketers can also point you to graphic designers, printers, and other professionals. As a result, your logo should be ready in short order -- much faster than the three years involved in developing the Memphis Grizzlies logos. Good marketers jump through hoops, but shooting hoops takes a little longer...and the NBA's approval.

Writing copy affects search engine rankings

General

2004-06-16 22:32:59

Many companies spend huge amounts of time and money to build flashy websites that will wow visitors. They post the site...and wait. And wait and wait and wait. No one stumbles upon the site.

Why? Search engine optimization and solid copywriting skills go hand-in-hand with website development. If you haven't build both your site and your content to attract visitors, web surfers will never find your site. WebProNews has an interesting column on using copywriting in search engine optimization.

I must admit that copy and search engine optimization can do a lot for business. Just in my own consulting practice, I've seen inquiries and contracts increase since I re-built my site. In fact, 14 times more people visit my site now than in January 2004.

A little copywriting and search engine optimization can go a long way.

What does your company do?

General

2004-06-02 23:02:55

As newly minted homeowners, my husband and I frequently visit home centres. On a recent visit, we chatted with the cashier, who mused that she'd seen us earlier that afternoon. She innocently asked why we needed so many supplies. We explained that we recently bought a home and that we're renovating. She looked up with a shocked expression. "I guess that's why people come to Home Depot. I never thought about it before," she said, clearly astonished.

Until that day, the above cashier saw her job as scanning items and collecting money. After talking to us, she realized that she was helping people maintain and repair their homes.

Do you and your employees understand your customers? There's a world of difference between selling things and solving problems. By taking the time to understand the problems your customers face, you can build whole solutions that help customers meet goals. Customers don't care how their problems are solved -- they just want them solved. For example, I wasn't looking for a plumbing elbow -- I was looking forward to watching TV while my new dishwasher cleans my dishes!

Even the smallest company can build a whole solution for a customer. By understanding your value chain, core competencies, and customer needs, you can identify the parts that make the whole. Your company can specialize in certain products and services, but work with researchers, developers, manufacturers, service specialists, warehousers, retailers and other partners. Together, you'll provide a complete solution to your customers' problems.

Marketing and Selling to Hispanic Americans

General

2004-04-22 20:14:11

Could your company profit from marketing to the growing Hispanic American market? Today, Adweek announced plans to launch a magazine for advertisers who want to target Hispanic consumers. Written in English, monthly Marketing y Medios will launch to 18,000 readers in September. Target audience members include corporate marketers, advertising executives and media buyers.

Wondering just how many Americans are Hispanic? More than 13.3% of Americans are Hispanic, reports the US Census Bureau. In spite of this, many advertisers continue to overlook the growing Hispanic market.

Mainstream culture increasingly shows Hispanic influences. Music, dance, and food borrow from Hispanic culture, reflecting the increased buying power of Latinos. Between 1979 and 1998, the Hispanic middle class grew 80 percent, according to market research from HispanicBusiness.com. Latino buying power will jump 60% by 2007, making up 9.4% of US buying power.

It's clear that the US Hispanic population will represent a formidable market opportunity. Visionary companies, such as Hershey and BB&T Corp have customized their marketing to reach Hispanic customers. Other companies are lagging and missing out on a great opportunity. Entrepreneur Magazine has some tips for marketing to Hispanic American consumers.

Tell me, don't sell me: consumers hate marketing

General

2004-04-18 22:10:28

This week, J. Walker Smith, president of Yankelovich Partners, warned the American Association of Advertising Agencies about increasing consumer resistance to advertising. Yankelovich recently released a study that showed 65 percent of consumers feel that more regulations and limits should be imposed on marketing, and 61 percent feel advertising is out of control. Smith advised marketers to hone their pitch to specific groups.

According to The New York Times, more than half the people surveyed said they "avoid buying products that overwhelm them with advertising and marketing" and a third said they "would be willing to have a slightly lower standard of living to live in a society without marketing and advertising." Smith pointed to a growing gap between how people want to receive messages and how advertisers communicate with them.

This shouldn't be surprising. Slick, sleazy advertising insults the buyer. And insulting the buyer is rarely a good strategy. Most people make purchases to satisfy needs. Physiological, safety, love, esteem, self-actualization needs -- buying goes right back to Maslow's Hierarchy. Whether they're considering a tube of lipstick or an enterprise-wide software system, buyers want to think they're making the right choice. If your advertising makes them feel uncomfortable, they'll associate that discomfort with your product. It's better to present buyers with a solution to their pains.

Most people like to buy - but hate to be "sold". Good marketing campaigns consider and address the pains buyers feel. Buyers want solutions, not products, services or technologies. Companies need to understand buyers, then wrap things around their products and services to turn them into whole solutions. And those "things" can include extra products and services, messaging and promotions, distribution strategies, and options for buying. And, once buyers purchase, companies need to continue listening to them, then refine customer service, support, marketing and products to meet buyer needs. In doing so, companies can grow and retain good customers while containing service and support costs and managing buyer remorse.

Contextual keyword advertising

General

2004-04-12 10:46:54

Contextual keyword advertising pioneer Vibrant Media launched IntelliTxt, a new online advertising model, this week. With Intellitxt, publishers can imbed sponsor links in articles. Just as HTML links allow users to click for contextual information on certain words or terms, contextual advertising allows users to click for more information on words in articles. Keywords are green-highlighted and double-underlined (presumably to make up for colour blind readers!). The company claims contextual keyword advertising generates relevant leads and a 2400% better click-through rate than banner ads.

Competitor Kanoodle's ContextTarget also pushes contextual ads to keywords in search results.

Contextual keyword advertising is hot. Yesterday, Yahoo reported that it has more than doubled revenues and nearly doubled earnings per share in the past year. Last year, Yahoo acquired Overture, a paid search sponsored link advertising company. Now Yahoo includes contextual keyword advertising and paid inclusion in search results and portals.

According to AdAge, the people who write content -- journalists -- are mad as heck. AdAge quotes one journalism expert who sees the ads as product placement.

And it's easy to see why. If keywords drive advertising dollars, then publishers will implore editors to deliver articles rich in certain keywords. Editors will push journalists to write articles that specifically target certain keywords.

But it's unlikely that newspapers will start writing sentences such as "Get three l0an offers -- special deal for diabetics -- when you buy Vi4gr4 online." For contextual keyword ads to work, readers need to click on them. If readers don't click, it doesn't matter how many keywords appear.

In comparison, if journalists write compelling, informative articles that specifically target reader demographics and interests, relevant keywords will actually support themes in the article. And, since readers only see the ads if they click on them, this advertising is less intrusive than newspaper ads, flyers, or, worse yet, the "New Homes" or "Fashion" supplements. If readers start clicking on keyword links, that means they find the articles highly relevant. And that could mean journalists are serving the readers.

Granted, some keywords, such as for "poverty" or "stop child abuse" may have few takers. However, media providers could donate keyword use to non-profit agencies. And, if readers genuinely expect to read such articles, publishers will need to ensure coverage for those topics or they'll lose credibility as news agencies.

Contextual keyword advertising won't corrupt the media. Even Chomsky notes that structure, power and environment dictate what the media say. Contextual keyword advertising is already part of the system. Intellitxt just means a fresh coat of paint.

Marketing blog directories

General

2004-04-03 19:52:21

Looking for a place to register your blog? I've come across the following directories, to which I've added my Vancouver Marketing Blog.
BlogsCanada
Truthlaidbear
Blogwise
Blogarama
PopDex
Blogstreet
Blog Search Engine
MarketingTool.com
More blogs about Marketing.

Vancouver Marketing Consultant Andrea Coutu
Vancouver Marketing Writer Andrea Coutu
My blog entry page
My business management site at Suite101
Get listed now
Vancouver e-Business and High Tech Community - www.Techvibes.com.

Whatisthatfile

Microsoft Track Changes Error

General

2004-03-30 16:30:44

Microsoft recently embarrassed itself by accidentally posting rough drafts of its marketing materials, according to Slashdot. The rough drafts can be viewed because Microsoft forgot to remove "track changes" information before posting several marketing pieces on its website. Although those changes weren't obviously visible, you can obtain the summary of edits and other information by using wWare. In a cruel twist of events, it appears that Microsoft could have avoided the issue by using simple Microsoft tool to remove "tracked" changes.

According to Slashdot, Programmer Michael Zalewski used the Microsoft tool to uncover all the changes Microsoft made in writing news releases and other documents. Because Slashdot posted the link, thousands of people have gained access to Microsoft's competitive information, press release changes, etc. If you review the first URL, you can actually see the evolution of sources, quotes, numbers.

To people unfamiliar with marketing, it may be alarming to discover how news releases and other materials are written. Some people may be under the impression that all press release quotes were spoken by the actual source. However, a news release writer can develop a quote and attribute it to any source, as long as the quoted source takes ownership of the attribution and no plagiarism has taken place. It's often the last minute before the news release writer finalizes the source for a quote. The writer or marketer may need to deal with internal and external stakeholders, all of whom have their own reasons for changing quotes and attributed sources. However, any professional marketer or news release writer will ensure that anyone mentioned in the release "signs off" on quotes.

Professional marketers and writers develop news releases, including quotes. They also write professional speeches, memos, customer letters, sales letters, ghostwritten articles, and briefing notes. Even the President of the United States has a speechwriter. In fact, when I worked for the Canadian government, I wrote memos, letters, briefing notes, "Question Period" responses, and other materials for a federal cabinet minister. Whether in a corporate or goverment environment, spokespersons rarely speak off the cuff. Except for Dan Quayle.

This process offers many advantages. Messages are consistent and integrated throughout all corporate materials. Speakers/sources are handpicked for credibility, ability to position messages, and relevance. All the messages have been pre-screened by key stakeholders or even legal teams, reducing risk. By involving a professional in writing a news release, companies can reduce the likelihood that an exec will over-commit them, say something incorrect about a feature/benefit, or go off-topic. The company leverages its full investment in marketing. And that's good for the company and its shareholders.

Google hints for market research

General

2004-03-20 18:38:34

Do you Google?

Google offers its own informative guide to Google features. You can learn how to search images, street maps, "free stuff", and news headlines -- or use Google as a calculator, dictionary, or phone book. Just this month, Google introduced localized searching, although this feature is not yet available in Canada.

The library at UC Berkley also offers a guide to using Google for research. More and more people turn to search engines when researching markets, products, companies, and technologies.

However, remember that Google and other search engines provide access to just a narrow avenue of information. Books, journals, newspapers, directories, and library resources can often provide better data, as SFU's head librarian laments.And research -- whether on the web or via traditional means -- can pose a big investment of your time and patience. If you're looking for a Vancouver market researcher who's familiar with online and traditional research resources, please drop me a line.
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White House Fake News Story on Medicare

General

2004-03-18 00:12:48

The New York Times has an article about fake news stories created by the White House to promote its new Medicare law. This takes disinformation to a new level. However, if the White House hadn't been the culprit, I would probably be more bemused than concerned. Campaigns in recent memory include fake websites for The Blair Witch Project, a personal robot ad that really promotes I Robot, and, of course, the lies people tell blind dates. Is this much different? But, more importantly, has it happened before?
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Teleworking

General

2004-03-11 21:36:14

Having worked as a consultant since 1997, I'm often asked how teleworking compares to a typical office job. In the past several years, I've worked with clients in California, Ontario, Georgia, and even my own city -- without ever meeting them in person. I rarely give it a second thought. However, because so many people ask about my experiences, I'm posting a link to an article on the subject. Last year, SkillNet interviewed me for an article on teleworking. Enjoy!

Related Posts
See Finding work you can do from home on my other site.
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Search engine optimization & rankings

General

2004-03-08 15:10:10

Have you ever wondered how search engines rank results? Knowing search engine secrets can help you market to customers -- and smart businesses are catching on. In fact, in 1997, search engine marketing was a $50k industry -- today, it's worth more than $1.6 billion, according to Jupiter Research.

Buyers frequently turn to search engines for help in managing the buying process. People research products before ever making a call or stepping into a store. By optimizing your site for search engines, you can improve your visibility with buyers.

To ensure search engines include your site in search results, you need to optimize. "Search engine optimization" means changing code and text to make your site accessible to search engines. Your search engine marketing plans can also include search engine submissions, paid inclusions, keyword bidding, links programs, backdoors, and more.

SEMPO offers several articles and case studies on search engine marketing. You can also learn more at SearchEngineWatch. If you're looking for a Vancouver marketing consultant to help you with search engine optimization, send an email to the address listed under "contact" on this page.

Switching costs and taxes -- inevitable?

General

2004-03-02 22:40:29

It's tax time again, and, like a lemming, I picked up a copy of Quicktax. I've been using it for 5 or 6 years. Before that, I used Cantax. But, at some point, Cantax wasn't available or Quicktax had a better price -- I can't remember. All I know is that now I'm a loyal Quicktax user -- I don't even shop around, which is unusual for me. I'm happy with the product, the help files, and the support telecentre. But I'm not sure I'm getting enough value to justify the higher price. I might check out other products -- even a tax shack -- next year. I'm not convinced Quicktax maker Inuit innovates enough to justify charging $80 for the small business / investor package. In a not entirely unrelated story, The Wall Street Journal considers Microsoft's hefty US$45 price tag. While my MS Windows software packages pose switching costs that, so far, have maintained my Microsoft loyalty, I do have fewer ties to Quicktax. I suspect that a good advertising campaign and a one-time deep discount on a competing tax product would be enough to woo me.

Update: Quicktax Ufile Comparison Comparing Quicktax and Ufile? My post has lots of comments about these tax products.
Vancouver Marketing Consultant runs from www.AndreaCoutu.com
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Content is King -- or is it?

General

2004-02-23 23:26:51

This week, The Vancouver Sun and other CanWest network newspapers converted to an online subscription model. I just don't get it. When I was in university, I learned that newspapers make their money by selling audience share to advertisers. What is The Sun thinking?

Now maybe I'm cheap. But I'm not alone. EContentMag published a lengthy diatribe about consumers' lack of willingness to pay for content.

But burning money died in the sock puppet crash of 2000. Online Journalism Review offers mixed predictions for CanWest's pay for content scheme. But I still can't see it working. Why would I pay for CanWest's articles when I can click away to another site or, better yet, see the real-time news coverage on a Global TV station? Consumers might pay for added value, but why would they fork over hard-earned cash for repackaged web content? Only time will tell.

Thanks for browsing Vancouver Marketing Consultant Blog from www.AndreaCoutu.com
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Bowling Alone

General

2004-02-07 20:14:01

Speaking of networks, a friend recently recommended Bowling Alone by Robert D. Putnam. I haven't yet picked up the book, but I have read a few of Putnam's articles. Dr. Putnam, a Harvard professor, claims that community bonds create a social capital. His research indicates that social capital has fallen dramatically in recent years.

According to Putnam, fewer people attend community meetings, host dinner parties, or even eat dinner with their families. People are more likely to bowl alone than with a team. Putnam uses "bowling alone" as a motif throughout the book of the same name.

His research shows that 10 minutes of commuting reduces social capital by 10%. I don't have any stats to back me up, but I agree with Putnam. In fact, my husband and I live in Vancouver's West End because we believe there's a sense of community among urbanites. We walk to work, the grocery store, the library, shops, and even the mall. Our respective commutes are less than 5 minutes. We have more time available for family, friends, and our community. And we feel a connection to our neighbourhood and even the pavement beneath our feet. Our concern for "social capital" was certainly a factor in our decision to live downtown.

Given the rise of social networking websites, I suspect many other people are looking for ways to reach out to others. While I've chosen to live downtown, others are reaching out for virtual realities like Bookcrossing and the Sims Online. For the moment, there may be many opportunities for quick-thinking social capital entrepreneurs. Until, of course, the next next thing shows up.

Vancouver Marketing Consultant Blog feed from www.AndreaCoutu.com
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Linking up with Network Effects

General

2004-01-28 21:00:42

Social networking seems to be the next big thing for the Internet. Friendster, LinkedIn, and even Dogster have hit the scene. Heck, these days, on the Internet, everyone knows you're a dog!

Often touted as Metcalf's law, the mantra holds that the usefulness or value of a communication system is the square of the number of users of the system (N^2). For example, if only you and your friend are the only people who have fax machines, then the fax machine's value is 4 or 2^2. If 100 people have fax machines, the value increases (100^2). This is because each new member of the network creates another opportunity for you to send a fax. Of course, the network could eventually become congested, but, up till then, each new member adds value. Wikipedia, which is, ironically a network-dependent encyclopedia, has a great article on Metcalfe's law (Interestingly enough, Robert Metcalfe invented the ethernet.)

This is a big departure from traditional supply and demand. Normally, if you produce more of something (like widgets), the increased supply will cause price to fall.

So, in the early days of a network, it could make sense to give away a service -- until you hit a critical mass of users that creates enough value to warrant fees. Even though fees might make some users quit using your service, the critical mass should ensure many users stick around.

I just wish someone had thought of that back when I wanted a laser tag gun.

Update: Errors in Metcalfe's Law

Integrating marcom and tech comms

General

2004-01-20 23:25:13

Tonight, I attended a joint meeting of the High Tech Communicators' Exchange and the Society for Technical Communication. The panel discussion explored integrating marketing communications and technical communications.

The concept is an interesting one, and I applaud the panel members for sharing their views and experiences. However, I think perhaps an even more relevant discussion would explore ways to improve outcomes from buyer and user experiences. Marketers generally deal with buyers, and tech writers generally deal with users. Some buyers are users, but not all users are buyers.

My first blog

General

2004-01-17 00:00:00

Until a few weeks ago, I thought blogs were narcissistic. But, after coming across some business and technology blogs, I now realize that a blog means more than a personal diary. According to Ask Yahoo, blogs are date-driven comments about the Web. And the lead editor at Diarist.net urges,"A person who keeps a diary or journal online is logging their life, not the web, no matter how they get their words out."

In general, my blog will be more like individual posts on Slashdot and less like a modern-day The Diary of Samuel Pepys. That being said, it may be some time before I have replies and nested threads. For now, I'll just experiment with my single-user posts...

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