Let advertisers spend the same amount of money improving their product that they do on advertising and they wouldn't have to advertise it.
It is difficult to produce a television documentary that is both incisive and probing when every twelve minutes one is interrupted by twelve dancing rabbits singing about toilet paper.
It’s advertiser’s job to make women unhappy with what they have.
Don’t tell my mother I work in an advertising agency; she thinks I play piano in a whorehouse.
Never write an advertisement, which you wouldn't want your family to read. You wouldn't tell lies to your own wife. Don't tell them to mine.
In good times business people want to advertise. In bad times they have to.
Advertising has really changed our thinking. This morning my wife put on eye shadow, eyeliner and eyelashes. I said, "What are you doing to your eyes?" She said, "I'm making them look natural.”
Friday, March 30, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
Life of a Marketer
One thing that strikes me when I lecture in B-Schools, apart from million other things that hit me with increasing regularity, is the aura surrounding the life of a marketing job in the minds of the students. Most, if not all, seem to think a marketing job is the next best thing to being a freelance gynecologist!
I don’t intend spoiling their party but I thought I could use this space to introspect a little bit about the life of an average marketer - those hard-working alcoholic workaholics who work 9 to 5 – working from 9 A.M to next day morning 5 A.M! Here is the piece – self-reflection lessons for marketers.
You lecture the paper-delivery boy on ways to improve his marketing skills.
You get all excited when it’s Sunday, so you can wear casual clothes to work.
You find you really need PowerPoint to explain what you do for a living.
You know deep inside yourself when you say ‘the work is happening’ means only one thing – the work hasn’t even started.
You normally eat out of vending machines and at the most expensive restaurant in town within the same week.
You know the people at the airport and hotel better than your next-door neighbours.
You think a ‘half-a-day’ means leaving office at 5 o’clock.
You know but you don't realize it when you promise somebody you would meet him/her ‘first-thing-in-the-morning’ means meeting that person just minutes before lunchtime.
You remember the names of all your high-school classmates but not the guy whom you met just half an hour ago.
You are planning to take the weekend off – only that you planned it three years back!
And all those marketers who are reading this......if you wish to add more to this list based on your experiences, feel free to add them.
That's the whole point about this blog!
I don’t intend spoiling their party but I thought I could use this space to introspect a little bit about the life of an average marketer - those hard-working alcoholic workaholics who work 9 to 5 – working from 9 A.M to next day morning 5 A.M! Here is the piece – self-reflection lessons for marketers.
You lecture the paper-delivery boy on ways to improve his marketing skills.
You get all excited when it’s Sunday, so you can wear casual clothes to work.
You find you really need PowerPoint to explain what you do for a living.
You know deep inside yourself when you say ‘the work is happening’ means only one thing – the work hasn’t even started.
You normally eat out of vending machines and at the most expensive restaurant in town within the same week.
You know the people at the airport and hotel better than your next-door neighbours.
You think a ‘half-a-day’ means leaving office at 5 o’clock.
You know but you don't realize it when you promise somebody you would meet him/her ‘first-thing-in-the-morning’ means meeting that person just minutes before lunchtime.
You remember the names of all your high-school classmates but not the guy whom you met just half an hour ago.
You are planning to take the weekend off – only that you planned it three years back!
And all those marketers who are reading this......if you wish to add more to this list based on your experiences, feel free to add them.
That's the whole point about this blog!
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Just screw it !
If the world cup is a fever, the talk about the new Nike ad is an epidemic. Most people I meet, and I hasten to add all of them are in marketing and advertising, can’t stop raving about the idea, ranting about its executional excellence, and ravishing unbridled praise on the 40 second wonder.
But I don’t see what’s in that ad that would make Nike sell more shoes in this country. Before I go on, let me clarify one thing. I am not commenting on the execution excellence or whatever of the ad. I am commenting on the strategy behind the commercial, or more precisely the lack of it. Execution is meaningless when a clear strategy is non-existent. And I don’t see any strategy behind the new Nike ad.
What is Nike? You would say ‘it’s an attitude’. Where does that attitude emanate from? Superior performance of Nike. And that is why ‘performance’ has been defined as the core of brand Nike. Not by me but by the custodians of the brand.
Now, tell me where is the performance highlighted in the ad. Does it say how Nike is the best? Does it describe why it is the best in its class? Or why you and me should be paying obscene amounts to buy a pair?
Aren’t ads about telling you and me why we should be buying it? Aren’t ads supposed to give a reason to believe?
Will you and me buy something just because it has an attitude? We might, when the brand is an affordable luxury. We might go to Barista to pick a cup of coffee at Rs.50 if we feel that helps us make a statement about ourselves. Selling coffee with ‘an attitude’ might do the trick then. But when we are supposed to cough up Rs. 2,000 or Rs. 3,000 (the hell, I don’t even know how much a Nike costs; talks enough about how much their ads make me want to enter a Nike showroom and buy one) don’t we want a solid reason for buying?
You might say, but don’t we know Nike is about performance. Who are the ‘we’? You, me and a couple of hundreds of those who make a living by marketing and advertising brands. Not the millions of others for whom Nike is another shoe. Even that is assuming if they are even aware of what the brand is all about. Don’t even try telling me Nike’s awareness and knowledge levels are high. After years of effort and millions of advertising, most leading Indian brands would be happy to have 60-70% awareness levels. And would love to have TOM scores even one-fourth of it.
Where does Nike stand? Zilch or pretty much close to it, when it comes to millions of potential customers across the country (the unfortunate ones who don’t belong to the glorified fields of marketing and advertising!)
The Nike ad doesn’t give me one good reason why I should be buying it. If it’s about selling an attitude, I am not sure how many of us would cough up thousands just for it. Performance is where the attitude comes from and that is missing in the ad.
But Nike ads in the U.S do the same thing you say. Yes, that is U.S, a country where Nike has been advertising for donkeys years; where they have established without a shade of doubt the superior quality of the shoes, the brilliance of its manufacturing and impeccability of its design and what not. They can afford to highlight attitude alone; the hell, they don’t even want to write the words NIKE in the ad. Sheer logo would do.
And this is India. We don’t know Nike. Or the reason it is supposed to be the best pair of shoes our hard-earned money can buy. We know Nike is a shoe, has the swoosh logo, and ‘just do it’ as its tagline. Nothing more, nothing less. Not enough reason for many to spend thousands on it.
Want more proof? Remember a brand called ‘Pleasure’. Yeah, the scooter from Hero Honda that said girls in India should buy it and asked the question ‘why should boys have all the fun’. Wonder why the scooter never started or sold. The answer is simple. What the brand said – ‘why should boys have all the fun’ – just defined who the target for the brand was. But it never gave a promise or a solid reason why that target should go and buy it. ‘Pleasure’ failed because it expected people to spend Rs.40,000 for asking the boys ‘why should you alone have so much fun’. Expensive statement for the consumer to make. The consumer chose to ask it by buying a Scooty, that gave them enough reason to believe; more than enough promise to buy!
Moreover, the Nike ad could be an ad for any other brand, for crying out loud. I will not be surprised if people mistook it for a Pepsi ad. Remember the ad has a few cricketers in their blues as well. So much for it!
But I don’t see what’s in that ad that would make Nike sell more shoes in this country. Before I go on, let me clarify one thing. I am not commenting on the execution excellence or whatever of the ad. I am commenting on the strategy behind the commercial, or more precisely the lack of it. Execution is meaningless when a clear strategy is non-existent. And I don’t see any strategy behind the new Nike ad.
What is Nike? You would say ‘it’s an attitude’. Where does that attitude emanate from? Superior performance of Nike. And that is why ‘performance’ has been defined as the core of brand Nike. Not by me but by the custodians of the brand.
Now, tell me where is the performance highlighted in the ad. Does it say how Nike is the best? Does it describe why it is the best in its class? Or why you and me should be paying obscene amounts to buy a pair?
Aren’t ads about telling you and me why we should be buying it? Aren’t ads supposed to give a reason to believe?
Will you and me buy something just because it has an attitude? We might, when the brand is an affordable luxury. We might go to Barista to pick a cup of coffee at Rs.50 if we feel that helps us make a statement about ourselves. Selling coffee with ‘an attitude’ might do the trick then. But when we are supposed to cough up Rs. 2,000 or Rs. 3,000 (the hell, I don’t even know how much a Nike costs; talks enough about how much their ads make me want to enter a Nike showroom and buy one) don’t we want a solid reason for buying?
You might say, but don’t we know Nike is about performance. Who are the ‘we’? You, me and a couple of hundreds of those who make a living by marketing and advertising brands. Not the millions of others for whom Nike is another shoe. Even that is assuming if they are even aware of what the brand is all about. Don’t even try telling me Nike’s awareness and knowledge levels are high. After years of effort and millions of advertising, most leading Indian brands would be happy to have 60-70% awareness levels. And would love to have TOM scores even one-fourth of it.
Where does Nike stand? Zilch or pretty much close to it, when it comes to millions of potential customers across the country (the unfortunate ones who don’t belong to the glorified fields of marketing and advertising!)
The Nike ad doesn’t give me one good reason why I should be buying it. If it’s about selling an attitude, I am not sure how many of us would cough up thousands just for it. Performance is where the attitude comes from and that is missing in the ad.
But Nike ads in the U.S do the same thing you say. Yes, that is U.S, a country where Nike has been advertising for donkeys years; where they have established without a shade of doubt the superior quality of the shoes, the brilliance of its manufacturing and impeccability of its design and what not. They can afford to highlight attitude alone; the hell, they don’t even want to write the words NIKE in the ad. Sheer logo would do.
And this is India. We don’t know Nike. Or the reason it is supposed to be the best pair of shoes our hard-earned money can buy. We know Nike is a shoe, has the swoosh logo, and ‘just do it’ as its tagline. Nothing more, nothing less. Not enough reason for many to spend thousands on it.
Want more proof? Remember a brand called ‘Pleasure’. Yeah, the scooter from Hero Honda that said girls in India should buy it and asked the question ‘why should boys have all the fun’. Wonder why the scooter never started or sold. The answer is simple. What the brand said – ‘why should boys have all the fun’ – just defined who the target for the brand was. But it never gave a promise or a solid reason why that target should go and buy it. ‘Pleasure’ failed because it expected people to spend Rs.40,000 for asking the boys ‘why should you alone have so much fun’. Expensive statement for the consumer to make. The consumer chose to ask it by buying a Scooty, that gave them enough reason to believe; more than enough promise to buy!
Moreover, the Nike ad could be an ad for any other brand, for crying out loud. I will not be surprised if people mistook it for a Pepsi ad. Remember the ad has a few cricketers in their blues as well. So much for it!
Finally, those who rave about the Nike ad say the ad is trying to celebrate the spirit of cricket. At last count I found 4,578 ads doing the same thing during commercial breaks. Nike was No. 4,579!
Friday, February 23, 2007
You’ll never be fed up with FedEx
Just found this one recently when someone pointed it to me. This is about FedEx – more precisely about its logo. Take a look at the logo first.
Have you ever spotted the 'arrow' between the letters ‘E’ and ‘x’ in this logo? The arrow was apparently introduced to underscore speed and precision, which are part of the positioning of the company. However, they chose to keep it subtle, or in other words, a subliminal symbol.
The creator of the logo, Lindon Leader, explains why this was done: “The power of the hidden arrow is simply that it is a hidden bonus. It is a positive-reverse optical kind of thing: either you see it or you don't. Importantly, not getting the punch line by not seeing the arrow does not reduce the impact of the logo's essential communication. The power of the logo and the FedEx marketing supporting the logo is strong enough to convey clearly FedEx brand positioning.”
On the other hand, if you do see the arrow, or someone points it out to you, you won't forget it. I can't tell you how many people have told me how much fun they have asking others "if they can spot 'something' in the logo.”
Besides, FedEx is also an interesting case where the brand consultants convinced the company to shorten their corporate name and logo from Federal Express to the popular abbreviation FedEx. Besides creating a shorter brand name, they reduced the amount of colour used on vehicles (planes, trucks, boxes, POP materials) and saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs.
Now that is some true 'value for money' consulting!
Also, FedEx is one of the very few brands in the world whose name is now used as a verb, officially endorsed by the top dictionaries of the world. I can only think of Xerox being the other one. Any other brand name that you can think of?
If this is not the pinnacle of branding, I would like to know what else is!
Have you ever spotted the 'arrow' between the letters ‘E’ and ‘x’ in this logo? The arrow was apparently introduced to underscore speed and precision, which are part of the positioning of the company. However, they chose to keep it subtle, or in other words, a subliminal symbol.
The creator of the logo, Lindon Leader, explains why this was done: “The power of the hidden arrow is simply that it is a hidden bonus. It is a positive-reverse optical kind of thing: either you see it or you don't. Importantly, not getting the punch line by not seeing the arrow does not reduce the impact of the logo's essential communication. The power of the logo and the FedEx marketing supporting the logo is strong enough to convey clearly FedEx brand positioning.”
On the other hand, if you do see the arrow, or someone points it out to you, you won't forget it. I can't tell you how many people have told me how much fun they have asking others "if they can spot 'something' in the logo.”
Besides, FedEx is also an interesting case where the brand consultants convinced the company to shorten their corporate name and logo from Federal Express to the popular abbreviation FedEx. Besides creating a shorter brand name, they reduced the amount of colour used on vehicles (planes, trucks, boxes, POP materials) and saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs.
Now that is some true 'value for money' consulting!
Also, FedEx is one of the very few brands in the world whose name is now used as a verb, officially endorsed by the top dictionaries of the world. I can only think of Xerox being the other one. Any other brand name that you can think of?
If this is not the pinnacle of branding, I would like to know what else is!
Monday, February 12, 2007
McElroy’s P&G Brand Management Memo
This memo, written by a guy named Neil McElroy, a P&G manager, is part to defend the hiring of two new people, describes a brand management team consisting of a ‘brand man’, an ‘assistant brand man’, and several ‘field check-up’ men. The following excerpt describes the duties and responsibilities of the ‘brand man’.
What’s the big deal you ask? Nothing much except that it was the first instance of an organized attempt at designing a Brand Management Team in an organization. So what, you scoff.
This happened in the year 1931. Yes, much before even your dad was born. That’s P&G - the Cincinnati colossus that has monopolized innovation and best practices over many many years!
Here is the story.
Neil McElroy, working on P&G’s Camay was frustrated by being in the shadow of Ivory, put forth the idea of developing a brand management team. He argued that there were not enough people caring about Camay. The marketing effort was diffused and uncoordinated and lacked a budget commitment. The solution, creating a brand management team responsible for the marketing programme and its coordination with sales and manufacturing, is considered a key event in the history of branding!
And here is the memo he wrote.
Brand Man
1. Study carefully shipments of his brands by units.
2. Where brand development is heavy and where it is progressive, examine carefully the combination of effort that seems to be clicking and try to appeal this same treatment to other territories that are comparable.
3. Where brand development is light:
a. Study past advertising and promotional history of the brand: study the territory personality at first hand–both dealers and consumers–in order to find out the trouble.
b. After uncovering our weakness, develop a plan that can be applied to this local sore spot. It is necessary, of course not simply to work out the plan but also to be sure that the amount of money proposed can be expected to produce results at a reasonable cost per case.
c. Outline this plan in detail to the Division Manager under whose jurisdiction the weak territory is, obtain his authority and support for the corrective action.
d. Prepare sales helps and all other necessary material for carrying out the plan. Pass is on the districts. Work with salesmen while they are getting started. Follow through to the very finish to be sure that there is no letdown in sales operation of the plan.
e. Keep whatever records are necessary, and make whatever field studies are necessary to determine whether the plan has produced the expected results.
4. Take full responsibility, not simply for criticizing individual pieces of printed word copy, but also for the general printed word plans for his brands.
5. Take full responsibility for all other advertising expenditures on his brands (author’s note – in-store displays and promotions).
6. Experiment with and recommend wrapper (author’s note – packaging) revisions.
7. See each District Manager a number of times a year to discuss with him any possible faults in our promotion plans for that territory.
What’s the big deal you ask? Nothing much except that it was the first instance of an organized attempt at designing a Brand Management Team in an organization. So what, you scoff.
This happened in the year 1931. Yes, much before even your dad was born. That’s P&G - the Cincinnati colossus that has monopolized innovation and best practices over many many years!
Here is the story.
Neil McElroy, working on P&G’s Camay was frustrated by being in the shadow of Ivory, put forth the idea of developing a brand management team. He argued that there were not enough people caring about Camay. The marketing effort was diffused and uncoordinated and lacked a budget commitment. The solution, creating a brand management team responsible for the marketing programme and its coordination with sales and manufacturing, is considered a key event in the history of branding!
And here is the memo he wrote.
Brand Man
1. Study carefully shipments of his brands by units.
2. Where brand development is heavy and where it is progressive, examine carefully the combination of effort that seems to be clicking and try to appeal this same treatment to other territories that are comparable.
3. Where brand development is light:
a. Study past advertising and promotional history of the brand: study the territory personality at first hand–both dealers and consumers–in order to find out the trouble.
b. After uncovering our weakness, develop a plan that can be applied to this local sore spot. It is necessary, of course not simply to work out the plan but also to be sure that the amount of money proposed can be expected to produce results at a reasonable cost per case.
c. Outline this plan in detail to the Division Manager under whose jurisdiction the weak territory is, obtain his authority and support for the corrective action.
d. Prepare sales helps and all other necessary material for carrying out the plan. Pass is on the districts. Work with salesmen while they are getting started. Follow through to the very finish to be sure that there is no letdown in sales operation of the plan.
e. Keep whatever records are necessary, and make whatever field studies are necessary to determine whether the plan has produced the expected results.
4. Take full responsibility, not simply for criticizing individual pieces of printed word copy, but also for the general printed word plans for his brands.
5. Take full responsibility for all other advertising expenditures on his brands (author’s note – in-store displays and promotions).
6. Experiment with and recommend wrapper (author’s note – packaging) revisions.
7. See each District Manager a number of times a year to discuss with him any possible faults in our promotion plans for that territory.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
How to ask your boss for a salary increase?
Here is for all those blokes who don't know how to ask their boss for a salary increase. And also what to expect from smart alec bosses! Courtesy: One of my enterprising students!
One day an employee sends a letter to his boss asking for an increase in his salary.
Dear Bo$$,
In thi$ life, we all need $ome thing mo$t de$perately. I think you $hould be under$tanding of the need$ of U.$ worker$ who have given $o much $upport including $weat and $ervice to your company. I am $ure you will gue$$ what I mean and re$pond $oon.
Your’$ $incerely,
Norman $handy
The next day, the employee received this letter of reply.
Dear NOrman,
I kNOw you have been working very hard. NOwadays, NOthing much has changed. You must have NOticed that our company is NOt doing NOticeably well as yet.
NOw the newspapers are saying the world's leading ecoNOmists are NOt sure if U.S may go into aNOther recession. After the NOvember presidential elections things may turn bad.
I have NOthing more to add NOw. You kNOw what I mean.
Yours,
Boss
One day an employee sends a letter to his boss asking for an increase in his salary.
Dear Bo$$,
In thi$ life, we all need $ome thing mo$t de$perately. I think you $hould be under$tanding of the need$ of U.$ worker$ who have given $o much $upport including $weat and $ervice to your company. I am $ure you will gue$$ what I mean and re$pond $oon.
Your’$ $incerely,
Norman $handy
The next day, the employee received this letter of reply.
Dear NOrman,
I kNOw you have been working very hard. NOwadays, NOthing much has changed. You must have NOticed that our company is NOt doing NOticeably well as yet.
NOw the newspapers are saying the world's leading ecoNOmists are NOt sure if U.S may go into aNOther recession. After the NOvember presidential elections things may turn bad.
I have NOthing more to add NOw. You kNOw what I mean.
Yours,
Boss
Sunday, January 21, 2007
How to Write a Good Advertising Positioning Statement
Start by looking not at the product but at the position in the market that you want to occupy, in relation to competition.
Think about how the brand will answer the main consumer questions:
- What will it do for me that others will not?
- Why should I believe you?
Make sure the best people in your company work on the APS. After all, it’s the most important document you will produce on the way to getting advertising.
Let individuals have a go at their own version. Discuss and modify the alternatives to clarify everyone’s thoughts and then pick the best one.
Try to keep it short - make every word count and be as specific as possible – vagueness opens the way to confused executions.
Search for ways of making it competitive – if possible find some way of bringing in the word ‘only’ as long as it is relevant to the benefit.
Indicate clearly the weight of each element.
If emotional values, e.g., social confidence, mother care etc., are important to a brand they should influence the way the statement is written.
Encourage the contribution of your R&D or technical personnel whenever possible.
Get wholehearted commitment at all levels in your company and where relevant, procure coordination, before issuing an agreed APS.
Do not give it to the advertising agency until you are pretty sure you have it right and are prepared to defend it. Then let the agency make their own contribution, before you decide on a final version.
Begin every advertising review meeting with the APS, no matter how apparently well known it is.
Keep the APS up-do-date and give as careful consideration to change as you did to the original statement.
Think about how the brand will answer the main consumer questions:
- What will it do for me that others will not?
- Why should I believe you?
Make sure the best people in your company work on the APS. After all, it’s the most important document you will produce on the way to getting advertising.
Let individuals have a go at their own version. Discuss and modify the alternatives to clarify everyone’s thoughts and then pick the best one.
Try to keep it short - make every word count and be as specific as possible – vagueness opens the way to confused executions.
Search for ways of making it competitive – if possible find some way of bringing in the word ‘only’ as long as it is relevant to the benefit.
Indicate clearly the weight of each element.
If emotional values, e.g., social confidence, mother care etc., are important to a brand they should influence the way the statement is written.
Encourage the contribution of your R&D or technical personnel whenever possible.
Get wholehearted commitment at all levels in your company and where relevant, procure coordination, before issuing an agreed APS.
Do not give it to the advertising agency until you are pretty sure you have it right and are prepared to defend it. Then let the agency make their own contribution, before you decide on a final version.
Begin every advertising review meeting with the APS, no matter how apparently well known it is.
Keep the APS up-do-date and give as careful consideration to change as you did to the original statement.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Ad Quotes
Writing well, rule No. 1: Write well!
- Luke Sullivan, copywriter and author.
Imagination is one of the last remaining legal means to gain an unfair advantage over your competition.
- Tom McElligott, cofounder of a highly creative Minneapolis advertising agency.
I don’t think people read body copy. If the first five words of body copy aren’t “May we send you $700?” word six isn’t read!
- Luke Sullivan.
Great print ads can make you famous. Great TV ads can make you rich.
- Anonymous.
Your radio spot just interrupted your listener’s music. It’s like interrupting people having sex. If you’re going to lean in the bedroom to say something, make it good: “Hey your car’s on fire.”- Luke Sullivan.
- Luke Sullivan, copywriter and author.
Imagination is one of the last remaining legal means to gain an unfair advantage over your competition.
- Tom McElligott, cofounder of a highly creative Minneapolis advertising agency.
I don’t think people read body copy. If the first five words of body copy aren’t “May we send you $700?” word six isn’t read!
- Luke Sullivan.
Great print ads can make you famous. Great TV ads can make you rich.
- Anonymous.
Your radio spot just interrupted your listener’s music. It’s like interrupting people having sex. If you’re going to lean in the bedroom to say something, make it good: “Hey your car’s on fire.”- Luke Sullivan.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Marketing Myopia
How can a company ensure its continued growth? In 1960, a seminal Harvard Business Review journal article, ‘Marketing Myopia’ answered that question in a new and challenging way by urging organizations to define their industries broadly to take advantage of growth opportunities. Mr. Theodore Levitt, the article’s author, showed how they declined inevitably as technology advanced because they defined themselves too narrowly.
He posited that to continue growing, companies must ascertain and act on their customers’ needs and desires, not bank on the presumptive longevity of their products. The success of the article testifies to the validity of its message. Written in 1960, it has been widely quoted and anthologized, and HBR has sold more than 265,000 reprints of it. The author of 14 subsequent articles in HBR, Mr. Levitt passed away a few months back.
As a student of marketing I have always been amazed at the almost visionary zeal with which he proposed theories and concepts and the longevity of many of them. As a mark of respect to the departed soul, here is an extract from Marketing Myopia. If you are impressed, and I can’t see why you shouldn’t, I urge you to go find and run through the entire article and, if possible, Mr. Levitt’s entire collection as well. To get you started, here is the extract.
Every major industry was once a growth industry. But some that are now riding a wave of growth enthusiasm are very much in the shadow of decline. Others, which are thought of as seasoned growth industries, have actually stopped growing. In every case the reason growth is threatened, slowed, or stopped is not because the market is saturated. It is because there has been a failure of management.
The failure is at the top. The executives responsible for it, in the last analysis, are those who deal with broad aims and policies. Thus:
The railroads did not stop growing because the need for passenger and freight transportation declined. That grew. The railroads are in trouble today not because the need was filled by others (cars, trucks, airplanes, even telephones) but because it was not filled by the railroads themselves. They let others take customers away from them because they assumed themselves to be in the railroad business rather than in the transportation business. The reason they defined their industry incorrectly was that they were railway-oriented instead of transportation-oriented; they were product-oriented instead of customer-oriented.
Hollywood barely escaped being totally ravished by television. Actually, all the established film companies went through drastic reorganizations. Some simply disappeared. All of them got into trouble not because of TV’s inroads but because of their own myopia. As with the railroads, Hollywood defined its business incorrectly. It thought it was in the movie business when it was actually in the entertainment business. Movies implied a specific, limited product. This produced a fatuous contentment, which from the beginning led producers to view TV as a threat. Hollywood scorned and rejected TV when it should have welcomed it as an opportunity - an opportunity to expand the entertainment business.
The view that an industry is a customer-satisfying process, not a goods-producing process, is vital for all businesspeople to understand. An industry begins with the customer and his or her needs, not with a patent, a raw material, or a selling skill. Given the customer’s needs, the industry develops backwards, first concerning itself with the physical delivery of customer satisfactions. Then it moves back further to creating the things by which these satisfactions are in part achieved.
How these materials are created is a matter of indifference to the customer, hence the particular form of manufacturing, processing, or what-have-you cannot be considered as a vital aspect of the industry. Finally, the industry moves back still further to finding the raw materials necessary for making its products.
In short, the organization must learn to think of itself not as producing goods or services but as buying customers, as doing the things that will make people want to do business with it.
He posited that to continue growing, companies must ascertain and act on their customers’ needs and desires, not bank on the presumptive longevity of their products. The success of the article testifies to the validity of its message. Written in 1960, it has been widely quoted and anthologized, and HBR has sold more than 265,000 reprints of it. The author of 14 subsequent articles in HBR, Mr. Levitt passed away a few months back.
As a student of marketing I have always been amazed at the almost visionary zeal with which he proposed theories and concepts and the longevity of many of them. As a mark of respect to the departed soul, here is an extract from Marketing Myopia. If you are impressed, and I can’t see why you shouldn’t, I urge you to go find and run through the entire article and, if possible, Mr. Levitt’s entire collection as well. To get you started, here is the extract.
Every major industry was once a growth industry. But some that are now riding a wave of growth enthusiasm are very much in the shadow of decline. Others, which are thought of as seasoned growth industries, have actually stopped growing. In every case the reason growth is threatened, slowed, or stopped is not because the market is saturated. It is because there has been a failure of management.
The failure is at the top. The executives responsible for it, in the last analysis, are those who deal with broad aims and policies. Thus:
The railroads did not stop growing because the need for passenger and freight transportation declined. That grew. The railroads are in trouble today not because the need was filled by others (cars, trucks, airplanes, even telephones) but because it was not filled by the railroads themselves. They let others take customers away from them because they assumed themselves to be in the railroad business rather than in the transportation business. The reason they defined their industry incorrectly was that they were railway-oriented instead of transportation-oriented; they were product-oriented instead of customer-oriented.
Hollywood barely escaped being totally ravished by television. Actually, all the established film companies went through drastic reorganizations. Some simply disappeared. All of them got into trouble not because of TV’s inroads but because of their own myopia. As with the railroads, Hollywood defined its business incorrectly. It thought it was in the movie business when it was actually in the entertainment business. Movies implied a specific, limited product. This produced a fatuous contentment, which from the beginning led producers to view TV as a threat. Hollywood scorned and rejected TV when it should have welcomed it as an opportunity - an opportunity to expand the entertainment business.
The view that an industry is a customer-satisfying process, not a goods-producing process, is vital for all businesspeople to understand. An industry begins with the customer and his or her needs, not with a patent, a raw material, or a selling skill. Given the customer’s needs, the industry develops backwards, first concerning itself with the physical delivery of customer satisfactions. Then it moves back further to creating the things by which these satisfactions are in part achieved.
How these materials are created is a matter of indifference to the customer, hence the particular form of manufacturing, processing, or what-have-you cannot be considered as a vital aspect of the industry. Finally, the industry moves back still further to finding the raw materials necessary for making its products.
In short, the organization must learn to think of itself not as producing goods or services but as buying customers, as doing the things that will make people want to do business with it.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Creative Briefing Format
Exceptionally good creative is a result of extremely well-thought out strategy. And the sun rises in the east. Nothing new, I admit, but good creative development process begins with a well-written creative brief. How to write a good creative brief is the subject of this edition.
Advertising professionals, excuse me please. You guys probably know how to write good briefs. But for those who wish to access a good template here is the format from one of world's most respected ad agencies - BBDO. Here goes it.
Advertising professionals, excuse me please. You guys probably know how to write good briefs. But for those who wish to access a good template here is the format from one of world's most respected ad agencies - BBDO. Here goes it.
Assignment: The job on hand
- Campaign / Single ad
- TV commercial – Length
- Print ad – Size, Colour
- Newspaper or magazine
- Outdoor, Promotion, Radio, Integrated Campaign
- What do we have to do, what’s the budget, and when do we have to do it by
Include relevant data
Target: For whom our brand will be a viable alternative
- Not just demographics – psychographics
- What are they like as human beings?
- What are their hopes, fears, and ambitions?
- What do they expect from the category?
- How do they use it?
- What needs do they have that aren’t being met?
Be as informative and as insightful as possible
Competitive Frame: Who is our competition?
-What are they saying?
- What is the source of business?
- What will the consumer do or buy if they don’t buy us?
Not just a list of brands – could include habits and attitudes
Consumer Belief: The deeply held perceptions and feelings
- What is the single most important thing our prospects believe or feel about our brand or the category?
What is it that the advertising must change or reinforce?
Marketing Objective: The things that we are aiming for
Be as specific and clear-cut as possible.
Advertising Objective: What we want to make happen due to advertising
- Raise awareness
- Put on list
- Encourage trial
- Repeat purchase
- Change perceptions
- Reconsider our brand
- Use it more often
- Use in a new way
- Remain satisfied
Be specific, again.
Key Selling Message: The one thing we want to tell them
- In the light of the Consumer Belief in the defined Competitive Frame, what is the single-minded promise we will make to the defined Target that will persuade them to act in the way that will achieve the Advertising Objective?
- What do we want them to think, feel or believe as a result of the Advertising?
What do we have to have an idea about?
Support: Relevant reasons why we can make the promise
- Competitive physical or perceptual advantages
- Not just a list of features, or of all the brand’s good points
The reason to believe our claims.
Brand Personality: Aspect of personality that the ad must reflect
- A brief, vivid description
- Not just a list of adjectives
Preferably, describable by one word or phrase.
What are the time frames?
Mandatory Inclusions: The musts or must nots be included in the ad
- Legal restrictions, logo usage, campaign themes
- The fewer the better
None, if possible!
Criteria for Evaluation: Measurable action points
The parameters by which the creative would be evaluated.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Literature Review - 2
Communications Imperatives for New Products
Journal of Advertising Research, Kirby Andrews
This article throws some light on the standing issue of what is the best advertising for new products. The author describes a research study done in conjunction with clients of his research / consulting firm.
19 firms had cooperated in the study, and offered a total of 50 new products that had been marketed in some 10 major product categories. For each product there was a commercial that had been deemed sales-successful or not (27 were, 23 were not). Most products were parity products, and only 14 were genuinely different.
Each commercial was analyzed for content: the analysts sought 2,121 criteria, using computer programming, for each segment of each commercial that had separate meaning. This long list was worked down to 84 criteria that seemed to be important. They differentiated the ads. All 50 commercials were then analyzed against these 84 factors, and scored. Lastly, the advertisers then supplied the success label for each commercial, and further analysis yielded the final data.
It was found that there's a direct relationship between the structure and content of an introductory commercial for a new product and its ability to stimulate trial (the prime measure of success for new product advertising). 9 communication imperatives were found, and 85% of the successful commercials incorporated all 9 of them. Only 13% of unsuccessful commercials did so.
Of the 9 imperatives, 5 are basic advertising communications objectives and involve:
1. Capturing attention
2. Building interest
3. Communicating clearly
4. Creating awareness
5. Meeting advertiser strategy
Journal of Advertising Research, Kirby Andrews
This article throws some light on the standing issue of what is the best advertising for new products. The author describes a research study done in conjunction with clients of his research / consulting firm.
19 firms had cooperated in the study, and offered a total of 50 new products that had been marketed in some 10 major product categories. For each product there was a commercial that had been deemed sales-successful or not (27 were, 23 were not). Most products were parity products, and only 14 were genuinely different.
Each commercial was analyzed for content: the analysts sought 2,121 criteria, using computer programming, for each segment of each commercial that had separate meaning. This long list was worked down to 84 criteria that seemed to be important. They differentiated the ads. All 50 commercials were then analyzed against these 84 factors, and scored. Lastly, the advertisers then supplied the success label for each commercial, and further analysis yielded the final data.
It was found that there's a direct relationship between the structure and content of an introductory commercial for a new product and its ability to stimulate trial (the prime measure of success for new product advertising). 9 communication imperatives were found, and 85% of the successful commercials incorporated all 9 of them. Only 13% of unsuccessful commercials did so.
Of the 9 imperatives, 5 are basic advertising communications objectives and involve:
1. Capturing attention
2. Building interest
3. Communicating clearly
4. Creating awareness
5. Meeting advertiser strategy
The other 4, called introductory factors hold more interest. A new product advertisement should:
1. Communicate that something is different about the product
2. Position the brand difference in relation to the product category. What type of product is this?
3. Communicate that the product difference is beneficial to consumers.
4. Support the above two claims: difference and beneficial. The support may be product demonstration, testimonial, guarantee etc.,
The study also points out the surprising number of commercials from the large firms involved that did not meet the 5 basic objectives and did not offer the 4 introductory factors.
The study, though, did not go on to speculate whether these findings would apply to non-television goods and services.
1. Communicate that something is different about the product
2. Position the brand difference in relation to the product category. What type of product is this?
3. Communicate that the product difference is beneficial to consumers.
4. Support the above two claims: difference and beneficial. The support may be product demonstration, testimonial, guarantee etc.,
The study also points out the surprising number of commercials from the large firms involved that did not meet the 5 basic objectives and did not offer the 4 introductory factors.
The study, though, did not go on to speculate whether these findings would apply to non-television goods and services.
Why don't you replicate this study in the Indian context using Indian products and advertising? Would be useful to the marketing and advertising fraternity, to say the least.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Literature Review - 1
The Characteristics of high-trial new product advertising.
Journal of Advertising Research, David Olson
This journal article deals with determining what constitutes good new product advertising. It describes a study done at Leo Burnett Co., a large advertising agency.
First, researchers went back through agency files and found 65 commercials that they could say achieved high trial, average trial, or low trial. Second, they had consumers view each commercial and rate whether 52 statements applied to it. Further analysis sorted these 52 statements to 7 basic dimensions of advertising:
1. News: how informative was the ad?
2. Relevance: how personally meaningful?
3. Purchase Interest
4. Stimulation: how entertaining or interesting was the ad?
5. Empathy: how involving was the ad?
6. Confusion
7. Familiarity: how much just like other ads?
The high trial commercials scored better than the medium and low-trial commercials across all seven factors. Still further analysis of the data determined that using just two of those seven factors permitted 66% success in predicting trial for the new product. Adding the other five only pushed this up to 75%.
The first of the two very strong factors was Relevance. Relevance is measured by five of the original 52 statements.
1. The commercial showed me the product has certain advantages
2. The product is important to me
3. The commercial reminded me that I am dissatisfied
4. During the commercial I thought about how the product can be useful to me
5. The commercial made me feel the product is right for me
Naturally, if the product is poor those five statements will be hard to get yes answers on. Good advertising is not usually thought capable of selling poor products. But, given good product concepts, the advertising should say so. If it does, the five statements are agreed to, and the relevance score goes up.
The second major factor was Stimulation. Its presence is measured by answers to the following six of the original 52 statements:
1. The persons in the commercial captured my attention
2. The enthusiasm of the commercial was catching
3. The commercial was amusing
4. The commercial was playful
5. The commercial was fun to watch and listen to
6. I thought it was clever and quite entertaining
The chances of obtaining high trial are only about 10% if the commercial is below average on both relevance and stimulation. It is 25 – 30% if the commercial is above average on one or the other factor. It is 50% if above average o both factors.
In a second qualitative phase of the agency’s study, analysis was undertaken to study how creative people view these two factors, and how they may interrelate in a given ad. A search of the agency’s archives yielded ten products where there were two different commercials with different relevance scores. The commercials were shown to creative staffers in the agency and each person was asked to identify the commercial that had the higher relevance. In most cases they were able to do so (without using consumers or the five of the fifty two original statements to guide them).
The author cautions that the above analysis should not be taken to mean that advertising could be written by formula. How one creates relevance is still an art, but it appears an ad should have lots of relevance (and stimulation too), and their presence can be measured.
First, researchers went back through agency files and found 65 commercials that they could say achieved high trial, average trial, or low trial. Second, they had consumers view each commercial and rate whether 52 statements applied to it. Further analysis sorted these 52 statements to 7 basic dimensions of advertising:
1. News: how informative was the ad?
2. Relevance: how personally meaningful?
3. Purchase Interest
4. Stimulation: how entertaining or interesting was the ad?
5. Empathy: how involving was the ad?
6. Confusion
7. Familiarity: how much just like other ads?
The high trial commercials scored better than the medium and low-trial commercials across all seven factors. Still further analysis of the data determined that using just two of those seven factors permitted 66% success in predicting trial for the new product. Adding the other five only pushed this up to 75%.
The first of the two very strong factors was Relevance. Relevance is measured by five of the original 52 statements.
1. The commercial showed me the product has certain advantages
2. The product is important to me
3. The commercial reminded me that I am dissatisfied
4. During the commercial I thought about how the product can be useful to me
5. The commercial made me feel the product is right for me
Naturally, if the product is poor those five statements will be hard to get yes answers on. Good advertising is not usually thought capable of selling poor products. But, given good product concepts, the advertising should say so. If it does, the five statements are agreed to, and the relevance score goes up.
The second major factor was Stimulation. Its presence is measured by answers to the following six of the original 52 statements:
1. The persons in the commercial captured my attention
2. The enthusiasm of the commercial was catching
3. The commercial was amusing
4. The commercial was playful
5. The commercial was fun to watch and listen to
6. I thought it was clever and quite entertaining
The chances of obtaining high trial are only about 10% if the commercial is below average on both relevance and stimulation. It is 25 – 30% if the commercial is above average on one or the other factor. It is 50% if above average o both factors.
In a second qualitative phase of the agency’s study, analysis was undertaken to study how creative people view these two factors, and how they may interrelate in a given ad. A search of the agency’s archives yielded ten products where there were two different commercials with different relevance scores. The commercials were shown to creative staffers in the agency and each person was asked to identify the commercial that had the higher relevance. In most cases they were able to do so (without using consumers or the five of the fifty two original statements to guide them).
The author cautions that the above analysis should not be taken to mean that advertising could be written by formula. How one creates relevance is still an art, but it appears an ad should have lots of relevance (and stimulation too), and their presence can be measured.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Indian Readership Survey: An Introduction
All of your have heard about it; most of you have read about it; a few know about it. And for the remaining who wishes to know more about it, here is a brief introduction to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS).
IRS is essentially a readership measurement study. The prime objective of the study is to collect readership information from a cross-section of individuals, in great detail, so as to present a true and unbiased picture of their readership habits. On the media front, it also captures information on television and cinema viewership, radio listnership and internet usage. In addition to this, IRS also captures information on various FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) products’ usage and consumption and durable ownership amongst households and individuals. Since media and product ownership / consumption information is captured from the same household, it enables linkages between the media and product data.
Fieldwork
IRS fieldwork, which lasts for a year, is continuous in nature. It is broken up into two rounds with a balanced sample. In a typical year, the first round’s field work starts from July to December followed by the second round in January to June. Data is reported on a moving annual total i.e., the average of two consecutive rounds.
Scope – All India
IRS 2005 (Round 1 + 2) has a sample size of 235,428 covering 1,318 towns and 3,084 villages.
The entire sample is spread equally between the two rounds. Individual reporting is done for 70+ cities that includes all one million population towns (35) and a few other cities of strategic importance to our users.
Key Findings
North has the highest concentration of SEC A households (13.3%). South is the lowest(7.7%).
Not surprisingly, North has the highest number of illiterate housewives (59.6%), and South has the least (40%).
West has the highest concentration of working housewives (48.5%) and North the least (21.6%). Maybe this explains why most North Indian housewives are obese!
For those who are still ignorant about the way India lives here are some penetration figures. No, not the number of times Indians have sex damn it! These are penetration figures among households, rather!
TV: 40 +%
Pressure cooker: 31 - 40%
Refrigerator: 11 – 20%
Motorbike and CD player: 6 – 10%
Automobile and Personal computers: 1 – 2%
A/C, Vacuum cleaner, Microwave, Digital Camera: < 1%
The top 10 channels both in terms of reach as well as viewers base are South-based. In fact only 25% of the top 20 vernacular channels are non-South.
The MNC’s are trying hard to lure the Indian consumer, but it is still the age-old Indian brand of refrigerator – Godrej that has acquired its space in maximum number of households in the country, be it urban or rural across the zones.
Source: Hansa Research and MRUC booklet. www.hansaresearch.com / www.mruc.net
Friday, October 27, 2006
Bridged Positioning: A game of bridge...again!
Regulars can recall my post on bridged positioning some time ago. If you can't recall it or haven't read it, check Archives 2006-05-07. I had listed a few bridged concepts then – integrated concepts that are both functional and psychological. I found a few more last week, courtesy the class of 2006 Amrita School of Business, Coimbatore.
Here is it...
Macho
Taste
Style
Enjoyment
Trust
Energy
Durability
Sexy
Sophistication
Adventure
Friday, October 20, 2006
The Advertising Essentials - Part 3
Here is the final part. The final word on the subject as well!
7. Be Executionally Excellent
Particular care must be taken with product, preparation and consumption sequences, and pack shots. We must never forget that we are selling products, which people are going to eat or drink. The product must always be presented in the most appropriate and appetite-appealing way.
Consumption shots should realistically communicate this in a totally credible way. Of course, there are exceptions, if you were to advertise for a brand of condoms to name one such!
The development of proprietary product sequences that are properly integrated into the communication (with appropriate voice-overs to underline a product-based consumer benefit) can help to enhance perceptions of our products’ superior quality. Unique and proprietary product shots and mouth-watering consumption sequences that appeal to our senses help to create appetite appeal, to differentiate our products and to motivate purchase.
Pack shots should usually also include the product as it is meant to be consumed, and should be given sufficient emphasis to be impactful, and remind consumers of what to look for on the shelf.
There is a skill in achieving high production standards in print and on film, and there are experts who can help. In order to achieve the peak of perfection, we must be prepared to invest in production budgets, and not be tempted to cut corners. This does not mean that we can substitute strong simple ideas with spectacular shows that hide the lack of a creative idea.
In summary, the questions to ask and answer are:
1. Have we done everything possible to ensure the best product shots?
2. Are the consumption shots realistic?
3. Does the product come across as truly enjoyable?
4. Are the product shots / consumption sequences proprietary to the brand, and consistent with building brand equity?
5. Have we clearly communicated a consumer benefit via the portrayal of the product and its consumption?
6. Is our brand highly visible in order to secure 100% correct brand identification?
8. Bring About a Sale
The unequivocal raison d’etre of all communication is to bring a profitable sale. There is no other reason for investing in brand communication. Although different forms of communication have shorter or longer-term effects on sales, all should be evaluated over time on their ability to build brand equity with our consumers, and in so doing bring about a sale.
In general, we should seek to create communications which have the consumers’ interests at heart, that are involving in content and execution, that are original and provocative, that get talked about, and have the “must see again” factor. In everything we do, we should always strive to build a place for our brands in people’s lives…in the long term.
In summary, the key question to ask and answer is:
Have the right tracking study mechanisms been put in place to measure the contribution of communications (advertising and other forms of communication) to bringing about a sale?
7. Be Executionally Excellent
Particular care must be taken with product, preparation and consumption sequences, and pack shots. We must never forget that we are selling products, which people are going to eat or drink. The product must always be presented in the most appropriate and appetite-appealing way.
Consumption shots should realistically communicate this in a totally credible way. Of course, there are exceptions, if you were to advertise for a brand of condoms to name one such!
The development of proprietary product sequences that are properly integrated into the communication (with appropriate voice-overs to underline a product-based consumer benefit) can help to enhance perceptions of our products’ superior quality. Unique and proprietary product shots and mouth-watering consumption sequences that appeal to our senses help to create appetite appeal, to differentiate our products and to motivate purchase.
Pack shots should usually also include the product as it is meant to be consumed, and should be given sufficient emphasis to be impactful, and remind consumers of what to look for on the shelf.
There is a skill in achieving high production standards in print and on film, and there are experts who can help. In order to achieve the peak of perfection, we must be prepared to invest in production budgets, and not be tempted to cut corners. This does not mean that we can substitute strong simple ideas with spectacular shows that hide the lack of a creative idea.
In summary, the questions to ask and answer are:
1. Have we done everything possible to ensure the best product shots?
2. Are the consumption shots realistic?
3. Does the product come across as truly enjoyable?
4. Are the product shots / consumption sequences proprietary to the brand, and consistent with building brand equity?
5. Have we clearly communicated a consumer benefit via the portrayal of the product and its consumption?
6. Is our brand highly visible in order to secure 100% correct brand identification?
8. Bring About a Sale
The unequivocal raison d’etre of all communication is to bring a profitable sale. There is no other reason for investing in brand communication. Although different forms of communication have shorter or longer-term effects on sales, all should be evaluated over time on their ability to build brand equity with our consumers, and in so doing bring about a sale.
In general, we should seek to create communications which have the consumers’ interests at heart, that are involving in content and execution, that are original and provocative, that get talked about, and have the “must see again” factor. In everything we do, we should always strive to build a place for our brands in people’s lives…in the long term.
In summary, the key question to ask and answer is:
Have the right tracking study mechanisms been put in place to measure the contribution of communications (advertising and other forms of communication) to bringing about a sale?
Sunday, October 08, 2006
The Advertising Essentials - Part 2
Hope you savoured the first part of this series. As promised here is the second. The best is yet to come aka the third part. That will appear next week.
4. Be Highly Visible
It costs the same to run a TV commercial whether it is dull and boring or whether it is relevant and involving. A good ad is the best media discount possible. An original creative idea is worth more than a big budget. In fact it’s arguable that the better the creative content, the less you need to spend on media. Repetition of a poor ad won’t do any good, whereas few exposures of a truly creative and effective ad will bring a high return on investment.
The first rule of all our communications is that it must have impact. However, that impact must be relevant to our brand. People aren’t waiting to read our ad or see our commercial. We are intruders into the living room. Sufficient impact to get the attention of our target consumer has to be the ‘price of entry’ for every piece of communication.
Being highly visible has a lot to do with keeping our message and its execution simple. Too often we make our message hard to understand. This happens particularly when we over-compensate for the lack of a single-minded ‘Strong Ideas’ by bombarding the viewer with a mass of quick cuts of complicated images. While we understand what we’re doing, often the consumer doesn’t.
Other ways to break through are to develop additional communications channels and to be more innovative in the use of media.
In summary, the questions to ask and answer are:
1. I know this is interesting for me (I work on the brand) but would it grab the attention of someone reading the paper, driving their car, walking in the street or watching TV?
2. What can be done to make it even more impactful? (In a way that’s good for the brand)
5. Be Locally Relevant to the Core Target
The communication must be built on, and relate to the framework laid down in the Brand Positioning Statements. However these should be interpreted so that they are absolutely relevant to the local needs. Only by fully understanding the consumer, their habits and daily behaviour, as well as their psychological and emotional feelings, can we hope to find compelling messages that tap into their minds in a convincing and believable way.
While it’s vital to make our communication strategies 100% relevant, it’s equally important to make the communication content and executions 100% relevant. Impact alone achieves little in developing brand salience, propensity to buy, and overall brand equity. What’s needed is impact with relevance. We need to bring the strategy to life in an impactful way. We need to catch the eye by planting a relevant idea in the consumer’s mind that produces the sort of reaction: “this is just right for me and the way I live my life.”
In summary, the questions to ask and answer are:
1. Do we know enough about the consumer?
2. Who specifically are we addressing for? For example, existing users? New users? Lapsed users? Light users? Heavy users?
3. What message will motivate them most of all to buy our brand?
4. What is holding them back?
5. Have we included a clear, relevant consumer benefit?
6. Are the necessary research tracking mechanisms in place to evaluate progress?
6. Be Likeable
Every piece of communication for any of our brands is also a communication for the company as whole as well. Our communication must acknowledge this. All brand communication should, by tone of voice and by involving the consumer, help to enhance the appeal of the company too. If people like the way you talk to them, they are predisposed to like you.
Just as we want to be liked as a company, it is equally important that people like our brands, as well as our advertising and the full range of our brand communications. We should aim to achieve the best scores in tracking research for ‘likeability’ of our brands / our communications vs. our competitors.
While we need to be responsible, it doesn't mean that our communication should be boring. On the contrary, we should aim for communications that are innovative, surprising, exciting, human and emotional.
In summary, the questions to ask and answer are:
1. Does the communication reflect well on our company?
2. Does it position our brands as relevant to today?
3. Does it build Brand Equity?
4. Will it be admired, talked about and liked?
5. Are the tracking research mechanisms in place to evaluate?
4. Be Highly Visible
It costs the same to run a TV commercial whether it is dull and boring or whether it is relevant and involving. A good ad is the best media discount possible. An original creative idea is worth more than a big budget. In fact it’s arguable that the better the creative content, the less you need to spend on media. Repetition of a poor ad won’t do any good, whereas few exposures of a truly creative and effective ad will bring a high return on investment.
The first rule of all our communications is that it must have impact. However, that impact must be relevant to our brand. People aren’t waiting to read our ad or see our commercial. We are intruders into the living room. Sufficient impact to get the attention of our target consumer has to be the ‘price of entry’ for every piece of communication.
Being highly visible has a lot to do with keeping our message and its execution simple. Too often we make our message hard to understand. This happens particularly when we over-compensate for the lack of a single-minded ‘Strong Ideas’ by bombarding the viewer with a mass of quick cuts of complicated images. While we understand what we’re doing, often the consumer doesn’t.
Other ways to break through are to develop additional communications channels and to be more innovative in the use of media.
In summary, the questions to ask and answer are:
1. I know this is interesting for me (I work on the brand) but would it grab the attention of someone reading the paper, driving their car, walking in the street or watching TV?
2. What can be done to make it even more impactful? (In a way that’s good for the brand)
5. Be Locally Relevant to the Core Target
The communication must be built on, and relate to the framework laid down in the Brand Positioning Statements. However these should be interpreted so that they are absolutely relevant to the local needs. Only by fully understanding the consumer, their habits and daily behaviour, as well as their psychological and emotional feelings, can we hope to find compelling messages that tap into their minds in a convincing and believable way.
While it’s vital to make our communication strategies 100% relevant, it’s equally important to make the communication content and executions 100% relevant. Impact alone achieves little in developing brand salience, propensity to buy, and overall brand equity. What’s needed is impact with relevance. We need to bring the strategy to life in an impactful way. We need to catch the eye by planting a relevant idea in the consumer’s mind that produces the sort of reaction: “this is just right for me and the way I live my life.”
In summary, the questions to ask and answer are:
1. Do we know enough about the consumer?
2. Who specifically are we addressing for? For example, existing users? New users? Lapsed users? Light users? Heavy users?
3. What message will motivate them most of all to buy our brand?
4. What is holding them back?
5. Have we included a clear, relevant consumer benefit?
6. Are the necessary research tracking mechanisms in place to evaluate progress?
6. Be Likeable
Every piece of communication for any of our brands is also a communication for the company as whole as well. Our communication must acknowledge this. All brand communication should, by tone of voice and by involving the consumer, help to enhance the appeal of the company too. If people like the way you talk to them, they are predisposed to like you.
Just as we want to be liked as a company, it is equally important that people like our brands, as well as our advertising and the full range of our brand communications. We should aim to achieve the best scores in tracking research for ‘likeability’ of our brands / our communications vs. our competitors.
While we need to be responsible, it doesn't mean that our communication should be boring. On the contrary, we should aim for communications that are innovative, surprising, exciting, human and emotional.
In summary, the questions to ask and answer are:
1. Does the communication reflect well on our company?
2. Does it position our brands as relevant to today?
3. Does it build Brand Equity?
4. Will it be admired, talked about and liked?
5. Are the tracking research mechanisms in place to evaluate?
Friday, September 29, 2006
The Advertising Essentials – Part 1
What I have here are ‘The Eight Essentials’ - management tools and criteria to evaluate creative work prior to production. They are also criteria to measure the effectiveness of our brand communications. I know everyone, and his uncle, in the advertising industry knows all these. But I wonder why we still produce advertising that ends up selling only the creative people who worked on it and not the brand it is supposed to sell in the first place! Which means…. we need to revisit these basics once again. The authorship is not mine; they only have my endorsement!
This might be too long for one blog and hence I wish to spread it over three parts. Read the first now and savour it for now. The sequels will be releasing in a PC monitor near you…shortly!
1. Address the Key Business Issue
Before starting to develop a communications strategy, we need to understand the business issues that the brand faces. Our communications can then be developed in the context of our business goals and brand strategy.
In the context of the brand’s long-term performance, we need to isolate the single most important issue. For example, is to build share against competitive brands? Or, in cases where our brand dominates a category, is it to build the total market? Is it to attract new young users? In many markets too much of our communication is directed at reassuring existing users, and too little is directed at recruiting new users.
The definition of the role of the communication will also have a significant influence on the choice of communication vehicle and medium, as well as the level of investment.
In summary, the questions to ask and answer are:
1. What is the purpose of the communication? Why are we doing it?
2. Does the content of the communication relate to the key business issue?
3. Is the communication medium the right one to address the business issue?
4. Is the investment at the correct level to tackle the business issue?
5. Is this the right brand to tackle the issue?
2. Build Consistent Long-term Brand Equity
For brands to succeed in today’s more competitive environment, it is more necessary than ever before to build consistently powerful brand equity. To do this requires careful management of the way the brand behaves and the way the brand communicates. This is a disciplined, continuous and consistent process of building greater brand salience and greater brand relevance.
The publication of Brand Positioning Statements and Communication Guidelines for each of the major strategic brands provides a focus for all brand communication in all markets. This will ensure consistency and will also ensure that all our brand communication delivers a clear, relevant and competitive consumer benefit.
Our communication should be bringing the consumer closer to our brands and enhancing the quality status of our brands. We want people to feel that our brands are playing a real role in their lives, and are relevant to them. We want them to acknowledge that our brands are of superior quality. By achieving this, our brand equity will be nurtured and strengthened.
In summary, the questions to ask and answer are:
1. Is every piece of communication derived from and reflective of the Brand Positioning Statement?
2. Is the brand communication strategy locally relevant?
3. Does the communication clearly offer a relevant consumer benefit and enhance perceptions of product quality?
4. Have we the right tracking research in place to monitor our progress in building brand equity?
3. Be Focused on a Single-minded ‘Strong Idea’
A ‘Strong Idea’ helps to make the most of our competitive advantage of having the best marketing communications that are measurably superior to our competitors. A ‘Strong Idea’ binds our communications together so that they are cohesive and consistent. Above all, a ‘Strong Idea’ is proprietary. Strong ideas make brands look strong. Strong Ideas build Strong Brands.
What constitutes a ‘Strong Idea’? First, it must be related to the brand. It must involve the brand, in order to get branded memorability. Second, it must be related to, or evolved from Brand Positioning Statement to get relevant communication that is in line with the brand strategy. Third, it must be involving for the consumer and hold their attention, so that it anchors the brand and brand message in consumers’ minds. Fourth, it should be unique. We need proprietary ideas that we can own. Fifth, our ‘Strong Idea’ should work across all forms of communication; not just all forms of advertising media, but all communication vehicles including sponsorship, events, promotions, sampling and relationship marketing. Sixth, it should be enduring over time.
Having developed a ‘Strong Idea’, the task is to keep it refreshed and relevant. The challenge is to strengthen it with every new piece of communication.
In summary, the questions to ask and answer are:
1. Is the idea well branded, relevant to the brand and the consumer, involving and proprietary?
2. Does every piece of new communication build on the Idea?
3. Is all the brand communication properly orchestrated around the Idea?
4. Are the research mechanisms in place to evaluate the growing strength of the Idea?
This might be too long for one blog and hence I wish to spread it over three parts. Read the first now and savour it for now. The sequels will be releasing in a PC monitor near you…shortly!
1. Address the Key Business Issue
Before starting to develop a communications strategy, we need to understand the business issues that the brand faces. Our communications can then be developed in the context of our business goals and brand strategy.
In the context of the brand’s long-term performance, we need to isolate the single most important issue. For example, is to build share against competitive brands? Or, in cases where our brand dominates a category, is it to build the total market? Is it to attract new young users? In many markets too much of our communication is directed at reassuring existing users, and too little is directed at recruiting new users.
The definition of the role of the communication will also have a significant influence on the choice of communication vehicle and medium, as well as the level of investment.
In summary, the questions to ask and answer are:
1. What is the purpose of the communication? Why are we doing it?
2. Does the content of the communication relate to the key business issue?
3. Is the communication medium the right one to address the business issue?
4. Is the investment at the correct level to tackle the business issue?
5. Is this the right brand to tackle the issue?
2. Build Consistent Long-term Brand Equity
For brands to succeed in today’s more competitive environment, it is more necessary than ever before to build consistently powerful brand equity. To do this requires careful management of the way the brand behaves and the way the brand communicates. This is a disciplined, continuous and consistent process of building greater brand salience and greater brand relevance.
The publication of Brand Positioning Statements and Communication Guidelines for each of the major strategic brands provides a focus for all brand communication in all markets. This will ensure consistency and will also ensure that all our brand communication delivers a clear, relevant and competitive consumer benefit.
Our communication should be bringing the consumer closer to our brands and enhancing the quality status of our brands. We want people to feel that our brands are playing a real role in their lives, and are relevant to them. We want them to acknowledge that our brands are of superior quality. By achieving this, our brand equity will be nurtured and strengthened.
In summary, the questions to ask and answer are:
1. Is every piece of communication derived from and reflective of the Brand Positioning Statement?
2. Is the brand communication strategy locally relevant?
3. Does the communication clearly offer a relevant consumer benefit and enhance perceptions of product quality?
4. Have we the right tracking research in place to monitor our progress in building brand equity?
3. Be Focused on a Single-minded ‘Strong Idea’
A ‘Strong Idea’ helps to make the most of our competitive advantage of having the best marketing communications that are measurably superior to our competitors. A ‘Strong Idea’ binds our communications together so that they are cohesive and consistent. Above all, a ‘Strong Idea’ is proprietary. Strong ideas make brands look strong. Strong Ideas build Strong Brands.
What constitutes a ‘Strong Idea’? First, it must be related to the brand. It must involve the brand, in order to get branded memorability. Second, it must be related to, or evolved from Brand Positioning Statement to get relevant communication that is in line with the brand strategy. Third, it must be involving for the consumer and hold their attention, so that it anchors the brand and brand message in consumers’ minds. Fourth, it should be unique. We need proprietary ideas that we can own. Fifth, our ‘Strong Idea’ should work across all forms of communication; not just all forms of advertising media, but all communication vehicles including sponsorship, events, promotions, sampling and relationship marketing. Sixth, it should be enduring over time.
Having developed a ‘Strong Idea’, the task is to keep it refreshed and relevant. The challenge is to strengthen it with every new piece of communication.
In summary, the questions to ask and answer are:
1. Is the idea well branded, relevant to the brand and the consumer, involving and proprietary?
2. Does every piece of new communication build on the Idea?
3. Is all the brand communication properly orchestrated around the Idea?
4. Are the research mechanisms in place to evaluate the growing strength of the Idea?
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Advertising Poetry
Who ever said Advertising is poetry probably meant only this! I scavenged this piece from the net. Author unknown.
When the client moans and sighs,
Make his logo twice the size.
When the client's hopping mad,
Put his picture in the ad.
If he still should prove refractory,
Add a picture of his factory!
When the client moans and sighs,
Make his logo twice the size.
When the client's hopping mad,
Put his picture in the ad.
If he still should prove refractory,
Add a picture of his factory!
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Ad Quotes
Advertising is fun. Might not be for the client who probably thinks the entire advertising fraternity should be shot dead. (Rightly so too!) But for those in advertising it’s a whole lot fun.
I was in advertising for more than a brief while and haven’t repented for it yet! I guess I will, eventually! Till then, here are some nice quotes on advertising. Enjoy!
I was in advertising for more than a brief while and haven’t repented for it yet! I guess I will, eventually! Till then, here are some nice quotes on advertising. Enjoy!
‘Early to bed, early to rise
Work like hell and advertise’.
- Ted Turner.
‘Beer commercials are so patriotic: Made the American Way. What does that have to do with America? Is that what America stands for? Feeling sluggish and urinating frequently’?
- Evelyn Waugh
‘Chess is as elaborate a waste of human intelligence as you can find outside of an advertising agency’.
- Raymond Chandler
‘In the last couple of weeks I have seen the ads for the Wonder Bra. Is that really a problem in this country? Men not paying enough attention to women's breasts’.
- Jay Leno
‘Advertising is a valuable economic factor because it is the cheapest way of selling goods, particularly if the goods are worthless’.
- Sinclair Lewis
‘Advertising sure brings quick results. Last week I advertised for a night watchman and the same night my safe was robbed’.
- Anonymous
‘If advertising had a little more respect for the public, the public would have a lot more respect for advertising’.
- James Randolph Adams
‘As to the idea that advertising motivates people, remember the Edsel’.
- Peter Drucker
Monday, August 07, 2006
‘A’d Joke!
A mother had three virgin daughters. They were all getting married within a short time period. Since mom was a bit worried about how their sex life would get started, she made them all promise to send a postcard from the honeymoon with a few words on how marital sex felt.
The first girl sent a card from Hawaii two days after the wedding. The card said nothing but: ‘Nescafe’!
Mom was puzzled at first, but then went to her kitchen and got out the Nescafe jar. It said: ‘Good till the last drop’.
Mom blushed, but was pleased for her daughter.
The second girl sent the card from Vermont a week after the wedding, and the card read: "Rothmans".
Mom now knew to go straight to her husband's cigarettes, and she read from the pack: ‘Extra Long. King Size’.
She was again slightly embarrassed but still happy for her daughter.
The third girl left for her honeymoon in Cape Town. Mom waited for a week, nothing. Another week went by and still nothing. Then after a whole month, a card finally arrived. Written on it with shaky handwriting were the words "South African Airways”.
Mom took out a latest magazine, flipped through the pages fearing the worst, and finally found the ad for South African Airways.
The ad said: ‘Ten times a day, seven days a week, both ways’.
Mom fainted!
The first girl sent a card from Hawaii two days after the wedding. The card said nothing but: ‘Nescafe’!
Mom was puzzled at first, but then went to her kitchen and got out the Nescafe jar. It said: ‘Good till the last drop’.
Mom blushed, but was pleased for her daughter.
The second girl sent the card from Vermont a week after the wedding, and the card read: "Rothmans".
Mom now knew to go straight to her husband's cigarettes, and she read from the pack: ‘Extra Long. King Size’.
She was again slightly embarrassed but still happy for her daughter.
The third girl left for her honeymoon in Cape Town. Mom waited for a week, nothing. Another week went by and still nothing. Then after a whole month, a card finally arrived. Written on it with shaky handwriting were the words "South African Airways”.
Mom took out a latest magazine, flipped through the pages fearing the worst, and finally found the ad for South African Airways.
The ad said: ‘Ten times a day, seven days a week, both ways’.
Mom fainted!
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