Archive for MARKETING/ADVERTISING
LUNCH AND LEARN: CUSTOMIZED STRATEGIES
You provide the lunch, we’ll provide the learning!
Get expert insights from PFS Marketwyse owners and best selling authors on topics related to your specific business needs.
With our new Lunch & Learn program, PFS President Deirdre Breakenridge (author of PR 2.0 and Putting the Public Back in Public Relations) and CEO Jason Miletsky (author of Perspectives on Marketing and Perspectives on Branding) will meet with your entire team to help get your marketing program on track and moving in a positive direction.
Send us your goals, target demos, creative briefs – any information you can share before the Lunch and Learn. We’ll base our meeting on your specific needs, and give your company:
- A full analysis of your current program
- Specific strategy recommendations for improving market share and visibility
- Insights into how you can better integrate Web 2.0 tools
- An action-item list of immediate and long-term next steps
Most importantly – the PFS Lunch and Learn is not a sales pitch – it’s two full hours of no-nonsense, practical strategic planning your brand can actually use – and benefit from.
We’ll also give you five free copies of any one of our books for your team to further learn from. Get your entire department up to speed on new innovations in public relations, general marketing strategies or the true value of brand building.
+ Find out more about PFS’s Lunch and Learn program
Best Campaign Ever Run?
by Jason Miletsky
I was recently in a debate with a friend of mine about what the best ad campaign ever was. Not necessarily the most successful – but which one was the best creatively. The conversation was interesting enough that I thought I’d add my thoughts to the new book I’m writing, and include them here as well. With so many great campaigns out there, it was hard to pick just one, but I feel pretty confident about my answer.
The following is an excerpt from my upcoming book, ‘Perspectives on Marketing.”
I love great advertising. I really do. And there are so many amazing campaigns that could vie for the title of best ever. The “Got Milk” campaign is clearly a contender, as are the Pepsi Challenge, the Energizer Bunny, Mastercard’s “Priceless” campaign, and some of the older, classic efforts like the “Please Don’t Squeeze the Charmin” ads with Mr. Whipple or Calgon’s “Ancient Chinese Secret” ads. I could go spend the better part of this book just going down the list of all the amazing marketing campaigns I’ve admired over the years.
Having said all of that, my choice for best ad campaign ever might surprise people. I’m sure I’ll get plenty of e-mail or comments on the blog about how ridiculous I’m being. Keep in mind, my choice has nothing to do with results, and it’s not about the best single ad ever. So here it goes. My choice for best campaign ever, among all the other possible candidates, is Bud Light’s “Real Men of Genius” campaign.
This campaign was originally named “Real American Heroes,” but Bud Light respectfully changed the name to “Real Men of Genius” after 9/11 so as not to offend the real heroes who rightly deserved our collective admiration during that time. But while the name of the campaign may have changed, its humor and attitude have not. The campaign, which debuted in 1999, features a powerfully voiced announcer humorously touting a nameless individual or group of people whose contributions to the world or activities in their everyday lives couldn’t be less pointless. Mr. Tiny Dog Clothing Manufacturer, Mr. Professional Sports Leg Cramp Rubber Outer, and Mr. Handlebar Mustache Wearer Guy are just some of the more than 100 spots that have been produced over the last decade. Each spot is hilarious, with the announcer playing up the associated achievements while a fantastically cheesy backup singer chimes in to support each point. They say nothing at all about the product – nothing about its taste or the calories it contains – they’re just pure brand building through humor and, in a sense, self-deprecationAs much as I wanted to choose a TV campaign for the answer to this question, I kept coming back to these Bud Lights radio spots. (Supposedly there were two TV spots in this campaign, but I’ve never seen them.) Talk about getting a reaction! Not only do I turn the radio volume up when these spots come on, but I’ll end any conversation going on so I can listen intently until the commercial is over. Considering that radio commercials are usually my opportunity to change the station, pop in a CD, or make a cell-phone call, any campaign that can stop me in my tracks and make me listen to every second has got to be among the best ever.
Next ‘Quick Clinic’ Scheduled for March 5
If there was one thing that our Feb. 10 ‘Quick Clinic’ made us realize, it’s that a lot of people have a lot of great marketing and communications questions! Way more than we could fit in just a 2 hour period.
So we’ve scheduled a 2nd ‘Quick Clinic’ and invite everyone to come and chat with us one-on-one about any marketing or communications topics you’d like.
When: Thursday, March 5, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST
Where: The chat box at talkwyse.com
It’s free, easy, and totally private – even we won’t know who you are (unless you want to tell us!). Some of the more popular questions we’ve been asked have centered around:
- How to effectively market while the recession gets worse (we got a lot of questions about that).
- Making Facebook and Twitter a viable part of a marketing strategy.
- Internal marketing to keep employees moral high when everyone is worried about being laid off.
But the floor is yours – ask us anything you’d like!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Because we get so many questions during our clinics, we need to limit everyone to ten minutes each so we can answer as many people as possible.
The ‘Quick Clinics’ are hosted by PFS partners and best selling authors, Deirdre Breakenridge and Jason Miletsky who offer their personal expertise in these intimate online sessions.
NEW HERSHEY’S KISSES SITE UP AND RUNNING!
by Jason Miletsky
I admit it – I’m excited. You’d think that after 15 + years of launching campaigns and working on projects that I wouldn’t get crazy excited over the development of a new Web site, but I still do. I guess it’s the creative part of me that just loves seeing an idea come to life, and this particular site really meant something to me.
For one thing, it’s Hershey’s Kisses. We’ve worked with global brands before, but it’s just somehow different when it’s a brand we’ve all grown up with and actually have an emotional connection to. I remember being a little kid, and finding Hershey’s Kisses that my mom would leave in my lunchbox. Decades later, PFS is playing a major roll in their marketing. How cool is that??
The other thing is that this is just a cool site (check out the old site, on the left, for a comparison). Playing off their new TV commercial (I really have to hand it to the Kisses team and their lead agency, Arnold Worldwide – they did an amazing job on this), we built a completely animated factory showing Kisses being made, wrapped and distributed. Check it out and roll your mouse over various items – we’ve hidden some fun things around the machinery!
Overall, the site took close to three months of intense work to design, program and build, and we blew through nearly a dozen unique factory designs before moving forward with the factory that’s currently on their Home page. And this won’t be the end of it – we’re already hard at work mapping out strategies for driving traffic, creating new rooms of the factory (starting with a fully animated kitchen), and developing social networking tools to keep visitors engaged.
Check out the site and let us know what you think!
Are Celebrity Endorsements Worth the Cost?
by Jason Miletsky
(The following is an excerpt from the upcoming book, ‘Perspectives on Marketing’)
If there’s one thing that’s not up for debate, it’s how obsessed Americans are as a whole with celebrities. Witness those crappy magazines you see in the checkout line at the grocery store, not to mention the meteoric rise of TMZ online and on television. Combine that with the 64,000-plus videos posted daily on YouTube by people just aching for their 15 minutes of fame, and it becomes clear that celebrities are – and always will be – an integral part of our lives. That means they’ll continue to be a force in marketing.
Using celebrities can be expensive and frustrating. They can be demanding, hard-headed, obnoxious, and impossible to work with, but they can also sell a product or service. Consumers relate to celebrities and in many ways, they admire them. A famous actress changes her hairstyle and suddenly it’s a wide-sweeping fad. I’m not a psychiatrist, but my guess is that many people want to feel like they have somewhat of a personal connection with their favorite celebs – which, in marketing terms, often translates to “He uses Colgate toothpaste, so I’ll use Colgate toothpaste.” Maybe it’s not as clear-cut as that, but on a subconscious level, there’s definitely a “Well, if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me” kind of thing at play. So in that sense, yes. Celebrity endorsements are worth the expense. If a celebrity can make a brand stand out among its competitors and help compel people to buy a product then there’s no question about that celebrity’s worth.
With that said, brands can’t simply put a celebrity next to a product and expect magic to happen. (It’s never as easy that, is it?) There are certain variables that brands need to consider when working with celebrities:
- They’re human, and they’re prone to getting into trouble. The difference between them and regular people, though, is that when an athlete or celebrity gets into trouble, the media is all over it. And I’m not just talking about Kobe Bryant and the other thugs in the NBA, or even Michael Phelps and his recent pot-smoking antics; after all, even Martha Stewart went to jail. (And if one more person tells me that she was just made an example of, so help me! She was not just made an example of – she sold stock she knew was faulty. And in order to sell stock, someone else needs to buy it. Maybe it was you, or your neighbor, or some guy who suddenly can’t pay for his kid to go to college because she knowingly sold him faulty stock. But I digress…) When the superstar gets into trouble, it can immediately reflect badly on the brand.
- The more exclusive the celebrity is, the better: When a star endorses too many products at once, it comes off as disingenuous. It might cost a brand more to keep a celebrity to itself, but it could be worth the expense.
- A celebrity can’t replace a good idea or a creative concept: McDonald’s classic “Nothin’ but Net” spots, which I discuss in detail later in this book, are a great example of how celebrities can be used well. Same with Nike’s “Bo Knows” campaign, or that single great spot with Joe Namath wearing women’s stockings. They didn’t just rely on the power of the celebrity; they used the celebrities to drive home a winning idea. That’s why those spots, and others like them, work.
- Whatever the star is selling has to be believable: Remember that campaign with Tiger Woods pitching Buicks? Perfect example. The dude makes a gazillion dollars a year chasing a white ball over a well-trimmed lawn. He’s not lusting after a Buick. But Michael Jordan wearing Hanes? That made a little more sense. In order for people to buy into a campaign, there has to be a plausible relationship between the celebrity and the product he or she is endorsing. People need to believe that the celebrity could reasonably be expected to use the product even without compensation.
- Not every athlete can deliver a line like Peyton Manning. Most of them deliver their lines like Mike Tyson. Athletes in particular may not be the best actors and brands have to make sure that their spokespeople can, well, speak.
In addition to placing them in mass-media spots, brands that use celebrities typically require access to those stars for a certain number of public appearances, signings, Web contests, and other uses, heightening their exposure in relation to the brand. Considering all this, companies that are aware of the pitfalls and can work around the particular difficulties involved with star endorsements should find that these efforts can provide a solid return.
My New Book, “Principles of Internet Marketing” Has Been Released
by Jason Miletsky
Okay, so I’m excited. My new book, “Principles of Internet Marketing” has been officially and finally been released. This is my second college text book, and sixth book over all. Over 460 pages (my longest one yet), and seven months out of my life, but it was worth it.
One of the things I liked best about writing this book was that I was able to pull from a lot of great experiences I’ve had with national brands, setting strategy and developing creative campaigns. It’s a cool feeling to see it in print like this and think, “Wow – I was a part of that!” I also really enjoyed the interviews I was able to secure for the book, like Ward Cunningham (inventor of Wiki technology), Konstantin Guericke (co-founder of LinkedIn) and Catherine Cook (co-founder of MyYearbook.com). Of course my favorite interview was with my partner, Deirdre, who gave some great insight on PR 2.0.
I do have to admit that I’m not a huge fan of the cover…but it’s growing on me. Unfortunately, most of the time the authors don’t get a lot of say about the cover art, so I’m not really sure how I’m feeling about the abstract crayon thing going on in the background, but there’s not a lot I can do about it, so hopefully I’ll grow to love it!
People tend to ask me pretty often why I’m so committed to writing books. I can understand the question – I spend a lot of time at PFS, which means I end up writing these books at night and when I should be sleeping. But I think they’re important. For one thing, I like being able to contribute my voice and speaking my mind about marketing and brand building – they’re topics I get excited about, so why sit on the sidelines when I can be right there in the mix. But just as important is what they mean to our clients. It gives them confidence to know that PFS is run by recognized experts. A lot of people claim they understand marketing and social media, but they really don’t. Having major publishing houses put their imprint on our writing helps validate our expertise. That’s meaningful for brands, especially now when budgets are getting tighter – things have to be done right the first time.
Contrary to Popular Belief…
Recessions are NOT the time to increase your marketing budget
by Jason Miletsky
There are two things brands can always count on when a recession hits: less consumer spending, and hungry agencies making the case for why this is the right time to increase their marketing budgets.
It’s a weak argument that’s been repackaged in any number of variations, all basically centering around the idea that brands need to advertise more to get a greater share of a smaller consumer pie. But that’s not reality. The reality is that when recession strikes, companies may be forced to go through severe cost-saving measures, and the marketing budget is the first place they’re going to look. Efforts that strictly work to increase brand exposure are especially vulnerable, as companies shift their focus from long term growth to short-term, measurable ROI.
The truth is, those companies are making the right decision. According to ChangeWave Research, 57% of US consumers plan to spend less through April, 2009 than they did a year ago, and despite a small uptick in January, 2009, future spending levels don’t appear ready to improve anytime soon.
So if brands shouldn’t spend more, what should they do? Clearly companies still need to market themselves to drive sales. But instead of spending more, brands need to spend smarter. There are two ways to do this:
1. Ditch the expensive NYC agency. We recently went on a pitch for a potential client who was interested in hiring us to run a promotion for them for the 4th quarter of 2009. As it turned out, one of the ideas we pitched was the exact same concept that their lead agency came up with, and is currently working on for the 3rd quarter of 2009. Well, not exactly the same – their lead agency (out of New York), charges over double what we charge. So look around – there are great agencies outside major cities that are every bit as creative and talented, definitely hungrier, and can stretch you budget farther, simply because we don’t carry the expense of marble floors and Madison Avenue addresses.
2. Seek out better avenues. Mass media advertising can bring significant exposure, but it’s expensive and the effects typically take longer (and can be harder to measure). During tighter times, brands need to seek out other ways of communication, including online messaging through social media, viral marketing and CPC advertising campaigns. If done correctly, these methods can not only increase brand exposure (even beyond what mass media can accomplish), but they can drive short-term sales and provide immediate ROI analysis – even with a greatly reduced marketing budget.
So as much as I hate to debunk the myth the industry has been fostering since agencies felt the wrath of the very first recession, tough economies are not the time to increase your marketing budget – their the time to spend your remaining budget more efficiently.
Excerpt from: Perspectives on Branding
by Jason Miletsky
In my new book, Perspectives on Branding, due in stores in March 2009, I answer a series of brand-related questions based on my experience and opinion. One of the questions in particular struck me as a good way to start my first blog of the new year:
IF YOU COULD TAKE THE HELM OF ANY BRAND IN THE MARKET, WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?
I’d like to share my answer, and would love to hear how other people would answer this same question.
The following is a shortened excerpt from my book of my answer to this question:
If I could take the helm of any company, I’d want it to be a brand that’s not currently at the top of their game – one that clearly has potential, once owned greater market share but has since fallen from grace a bit.
There are scores of companies that fall into this category that come to mind, like Hostess (cupcakes, Twinkies, etc.), DC Comics (they have characters like Superman, Batman, Aquaman), Krispy Kreme – the list goes on! But there are two in particular that for one reason or another I feel more compelled to discuss in detail.
Midway Games: There was a point in time where you couldn’t go into an arcade without seeing the Midway name everywhere – they were the undisputed king of gaming. But over the years, they’ve given up market share to others, and their stock (which I own some of), has been battered down to about 27 cents at the time of this writing. Still though, they have a rich history behind them (Joust, Defender, Spy Hunter – the classic games that got it all started), and some great titles in their current line-up (including Mortal Kombat – one of the best fighting games ever made. Coincidentally, a new version was just released using character from DC comics).
I would love to take the reigns at Midway and make some wide-sweeping changes. First thing I’d do is completely redesign their online gaming site, which is sub-par at best and clearly not performing very well (I checked with Alexa.com, a site that ranks other sites by traffic. Midwayarcade.com was ranked as the 859,751 most visited site). Bubblebox.com, another gaming site, was ranked 4,314. Bubblebox,com? Seriously, how does Midway Games lose to a site called Bubblebox.com? It’s sadly obvious how – Bubblebox.com’s got their act together in the online world; Midway doesn’t.
I’d also restore some innovative spirit to the brand. Their Mortal Kombat game with DC characters looks cool (I personally haven’t played it yet), but my guess is that it’s probably way cooler than their advertising is showing it off to be. The trailers and TV spots are well produced, but you’re dealing with characters that everyone knows and a completely new twist on a 15 year old game – do something really spectacular with this! Where is the viral component? Where is the larger than life aspect to the title? Where’s the edge? It doesn’t have to be crazy expensive – it has to crazy creative! You’ve just blended the best fighting game with some of the best superheroes – you’ve got the bait, now you just need to cast the reel better.
Saladworks: Maybe this chain is doing well and I just don’t know about it, but from my experience the place is usually a ghost town, except for maybe a small increase in traffic during lunch. But to make this work, I’d want to control more than just the brand and marketing. For anyone who hasn’t been to Saladworks, it’s a fast-food style chain that lets people choose the ingredients and dressing they want and make their own salad – it looks like a buffet, but someone who works there does it for you.
The initial question is simply ‘why is this place so empty, at least compared to the Panera Bread place right next door?’ The concept is good, the ingredients seem fresh and there’s always emphasis in the media on staying health conscious (not all of the ingredients there are healthy, but the word “salad” usually invokes a sense that it’s good for you). But then you get to the cash register and find out why the store is so lonely – $11 for a salad and soda is pretty hefty. I don’t think anything a brand manager can do will be super effective until the price is more reasonable.
Put the price issue aside for second, and there’s still a lot more that could be done from a strict branding and marketing perspective. For one thing, you need to really make the case that salads can be a meal on their own – especially for dinner, when the stores seem particularly empty. People are happy to have a salad for lunch, but when it comes to dinner, they see salads as something you have before the meal – not as the meal itself. Saladworks needs to change public sentiment, and get more people in during evening hours. I’d also play up some of the paninis and other non-salad food that would not only bring people back at night, but bring them back more often.
The first step toward this goal would be to change the name of the chain to Saladworks Plus – the addition of that single word at the end lets diners know there’s more going on than just salad. I’d also completely revamp their advertising, which seems to rely most heavily on highway billboards. I’d add some TV and radio to the mix, playing up the freshness and selection of ingredients, but with creative twists to make them memorable and support the effort with wide-sweeping Web marketing (starting with redeveloping their site and online ordering system). I’d also remove any billboards that exist on random highways and reposition them to only appear near the parking lots of fatty chains, like Fuddruckers, laying the guilt on nice and thick. Be aggressive! Their 2007 Celebrity Chef competition was a good idea, and they do a good job getting PR for themselves, but it’s not enough to live up to their potential. Saladworks is a great chain with a wonderful opportunity, but they’re missing the boat in terms of branding and marketing.
There are so many brands I’d love to get my hands on! I guess the real answer for me is that I’d be excited to take the helm of any brand that allowed me to take some chances and really do something exciting!
Five Secrets to Using the Google AdWords Content Network
Google AdWords’ content network gives marketers a unique opportunity to reach broader audiences. Unlike paid search, in which ads appear based on keywords people type into the Google search bar, the content network distributes ads throughout the pages of Web sites that have allocated space for advertising.
In many respects, advertising through the content network is significantly harder – with paid search advertising, you’re marketing to people who are actively searching for specific information. On the content network, you’re presenting ads to people who are on those sites for other reasons entirely.
So what’s the best way to make the most of the content network for your marketing strategy? PFS has put together a list of five key points for maximizing traffic while minimizing cost:
1. Cast a wide net: The content network gives you a number of ways to choose which sites you want your ads to appear on. Conduct your search for sites either based on keywords or demographics, and don’t be afraid to add a lot of sites, even if they don’t seem like a perfect fit, or have a low impression rate. You only pay if somebody clicks on your ad – not if they just appear on a site, so try a lot of sites and track the result over time.
2. Use banner and display ads: Unlike paid search, the content network gives you the opportunity to advertise using banner and display advertising – much more visual and eye-catching than text ads, and much more likely to get the click-thru’s you’re looking for. You should also test multiple ads to see which ones work better than others.
3. Make sure the subject of your ad is clear: Text ads that appear as part of a paid search campaign can be a little ambiguous, because it’s understood that the subject of the ad will have something to do with the search term used. That’s not necessarily the case with the content network, where your ad might appear on sites that have nothing to do with what you’re promoting. Make sure that the subject of your ad is clear so that you only pay for clicks by people truly interested in your message.
4. Set goals through Analytics: Along with any AdWords campaign, you should track site usage through Google’s free Analytics program. Most specifically, set up goals within Analytics by flagging pages that you ultimately want users to reach (such as the “Thank you” page after placing an online order, or a “Registration complete” page for sites looking to sign up new members). By setting up goal, you’ll be able to calculate the true cost per conversion, and determine over time which methods of driving traffic are more cost effective.
5. Create an AdGroup made up of sites that have proven successful: After enough time has past, you’ll be able to figure out which sites within the content network are working better than others, specifically related to number of conversions and cost per conversion. Similarly, you’ll be able to see which ads are driving more traffic. With this information, set up a new AdGroup made up of only the sites and ads that have been most successful, and then use other AdGroups to test other sites and ads. Continue this process until you have a healthy mix of sites and ads that are a certified success.
