3 Things Marketers Can Learn From Governor Romney and President Obama

This is not a political article. Ant it isn't an article about who will win the race for the White House during this year's presidential election. Nor is this an article about political policy, polling data or even hot-button social issues.  Rather, this is a post about what the campaigns can teach marketers. No one has done more marketing in the last few months then Governor Romney and President Obama. We should definitely be learning something from their campaigns.

The Presidential election is less than a week away. The time for Americans to choose their leader is nearly at hand. The campaigns have churned out well over $1B worth of advertisements, videos, content and branding. They have pounded each other, lauded their owned accomplishments, and pandered to the American people. After this sprint of a campaign, the candidates can now see the finish line. They are sprinting down the homestretch in an effort to be hired for the most powerful job in the world.

What can we take from their organizations to help ours?

1) Great Video

Have you seen the biographic videos produced by the campaigns? If you haven't, here is Governor Romney’s and here is President Obama’s.  They are both extraordinarily well done.

Also well done are the campaigns’ negative ads.

And, whether or not you like all the negative campaign ads isn't the point. Studies show that most people don't like negative campaign ads. However, those ads do help win elections. The reason we see them so frequently is because they work. And, incidentally, they are becoming more common, not less.

The bottom line is this: the ads are well done from a storytelling and video perspective. They pack a ton of info into a 30 second spot. They are shot well, narrated appropriately, and are generally very 'slick' and professional looking. They don't hire amateurs to do their work. And they have expert copywriters producing the content.

What to do

Now, you certainly can’t afford to spend money like the Presidential campaigns. However, you can produce well thought out scripts, high quality footage, and even decent narration, on a shoestring.

2) Branding and Recognition

You have, no doubt, seen the Obama campaign's sunrise logo or the big letter 'R' that denotes the Romney campaign. Both of these images have gained immediate mindshare. They are beautiful looking logos and convey what the campaign is about.

More importantly, perhaps, the campaigns have maintained brand consistency. Many companies struggle with this, swinging wildly from one branding concept to another. While the candidates may verbally swing back and forth and remain inconsistent on the campaign trail, their branding has remained constant. Everything from the taglines, to the logos, to the visuals has been choreographed beautifully.

What to do

Get your branding figured out right now.  Some companies waste valuable time and resources either unsure of their branding, or branding incorrectly. How do you know if you're doing it wrong? Well, here are a couple of questions to ask yourself to determine if your branding is clear:

-- If your customers were asked what your tagline is, could they tell you?

-- If your employees were asked to draw your logo, could they do it?

--Can any employee explain what your company does AND why you do it better than anyone else in 10 – 15 seconds?

--Are you branding consistently?

3) Social Media

The campaigns don’t just post stuff to their respective Twitter accounts and hope people will read it. Rather, they actually engage with their social media audience. Both candidates have hosted Google+ Hangout sessions. Both tweet regularly. Both post images and video. Both have their immediate families and supporters use social media regularly.

Are the people closest to you—or even all your employee—using social media to spread the good word about your company?

The Obama campaign set new standards for social media marketing in 2008. And both campaigns are doing a great job this year. The Obama campaign clearly had a built in social media engagement advantage coming into the race. But the Romney campaign has sought to mitigate that advantage. Both campaigns understand how critical social media marketing is. They seek to trend on Twitter, accrue 'Likes' on Facebook, and +1s on their websites.

This should be a valuable lesson for marketers everywhere.

What to do

I am always stunned by how reluctant employees are about getting involved in the social media efforts of the company they work for. Companies like Hubspot and Marketo have 20 to 25 employees on Twitter. They tweet regularly, build their own brand constantly, and grow followers daily. These companies get it. We’re still working on it at LogMyCalls. Other companies struggle to get anyone outside of the marketing department to even post company-related things on their Facebook pages or create a Twitter account.

To remedy this executives at some companies go so far as to ask prospective employees during the interview process—for any position—if they are comfortable having various social media accounts and sharing content on social media. 

Marketing Lessons From a Tropical Storm

As the news of a pending tropical storm unfolds, it reminds me of the fact that good marketing lessons can be found just about anywhere.  Living in the supposed path of this soon to hit storm, I've noticed the frenzy of activity from the community around me.  And they're buying stuff... lots of stuff!  Batteries, flashlights, generators, food, and who know what.  

From a marketing perspective it reinforces the power of creating urgency in your marketing message.  I would argue that individuals who are fearful will buy whatever they can find to help mitigate their fear and anxiety without particular interest in brand or cost.  Talk about an ideal situation for sellers!  Some retailers are responding appropriately to this opportunity - making important products easy to find for consumers.  Home depot for example placed batteries, flashlights, and bottled water at designated kiosks near the front of the store.  

The question I have for you this week is how you can create a similar sense of urgency among your prospects and customers.  "Only 3 left!"  or "On sale today only!" are just two examples of creating urgency.  However, you can intensify this effect by building a story of anticipation.  This is what Internet marketers do well.  They communicate in advance of their messages which focus on scarcity.  If you take the time to build anticipation and limit the opportunity to make a purchase, you can dramatically improve sales and not have to compromise on price.

I recently saw this done well with the launch of a new Internet marketing product.  For weeks leading up to the release, the company published videos, interviews with industry experts, data and infographics to show the importance of what was to come.  When the doors were finally opened, people were virtually stepping over each other trying to get the limited supply of software available.

Not only did this marketer "sell out" of available inventory, but he created a habit of scarcity among his potential audience.  What do you think is going to happen the next time he has a product launch?  You guessed it, people will jump on the bandwagon even sooner.  

Consider how scarcity and urgency can motivate your consumers.  Whether you run a one-day sale once a year or introduce new products in a limited way, you can certainly learn from the frenzy around tropical storms.  I know it sounds crazy but the reality is that you can learn valuable marketing lessons from anyone - even mother nature.

Marketing Funda : Why "iPhone Killer " is a bad marketing idea

The marketing world is now full of wannabe iPhone Killers - the new products that aims to kill the market leader or iconic brands. Although Frontal Attack is a celebrated strategy in marketing text books, the risks are pretty high and the possibility of a bloodbath is even  higher. Market Challengers will do better if they don't attack iconic brands directly.

The recent Apple Vs Samsung war of smartphones and the ultimate fall out of painful lawsuits warrants a recheck on the strategy of a frontal attack on market leaders.  Apple rule of the smartphone market with iPhone has prompted many mobile marketers to try and comeout with " iPhone Killers" but with no success. Market leaders like iPhones are seen in many markets. In India we have market leaders like Colgate, Alto, Maggi, Axe, Parachute, Johnson & Johnson, Horlicks etc who command a very large share of mind and also the market. There were many attempts from market challengers to dethrone these leaders by directly confronting them. In many cases, these challenger brands stay in a distant second position while the market leaders are not pretty much hurt. 

The famous wars between Pepsodent Vs Colgate, Maggi Vs Top Ramen J&J vs Sparsh , Complan Vs Horlicks were high profile frontal attack by market challengers but could not dethrone the leaders from their positions. My hypothesis is that rather than frontally attacking the leaders especially iconic brands, competing brands will do well if they could build a position that avoids direct comparison with the market leaders . Its not a blue ocean strategy where you would go in search of a new market but positioning away from the market leader so that consumers would not directly compare the brand with the market leader attributes.

The problem with a direct frontal attack is that consumers will directly compare the attributes with the market leader and if the competing brands do not have strong parity and even stronger differentiation, the strategy will have a negative fall out. In the case of iPhone, the competing brands which tout themselves as iPhone killers were not able to create strong parity with this iconic product especially in the brand image front.

Market challengers could do well if they can position their product away from the iconic brand and create a market and grow by expanding it on their unique strengths . 

Its my hypothesis, what do you say ??

How To Promote Blog Content

Ever since writing my latest book, Blogging Made Simple, I continue to get inundated with questions on how to promote individual blog posts and any new content that you or your company may produce.  As is always the case with new content or digital assets, you should publish to your website or blog first.  I would also advise you to use the "rel=author" tag to claim content as your own.

Once you've created your content, the next step is to promote it for maximum exposure and search engine optimization value.  Where do you start?  Thanks to Launch Grow Joy, you no longer have to guess.  They've provided this fantastic infographic (click image to view) which details 30 ways to promote your blog posts or any other digital asset for that matter.

The best place to start is by leveraging your social media accounts.  Start by developing accounts on all of the major social networks including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google +.  Once the accounts have been established, let your clients know, post your social media icons on your website, and share them with your potential audience.  As you build a network, you'll continue to increase your reach and exposure.

After publishing to social media accounts, focus on bookmarking.  Stumble Upon, Digg, Reddit, Delicious, and Technorati are all effective platforms to link to your content.  In addition to publishing to social and bookmarking websites, don't neglect all of the other resources at your disposal.  This includes leveraging existing contacts in your database to spread the word.

Whether you maintain a client list or have emails for customers, pushing content out that's relevant to their wants and needs can pay huge dividends.  Not only will your customers appreciate this information, but they can share with others who are seeking similar types or resources.  The last piece is syndication.

Launch Grow Joy was smart to cover Syndication in their fabulous infographic.  Syndication is the process of taking your content and distributing it to other audiences who can benefit from your content.  Syndication is one of the ways that sites always seem to have a fresh source of daily content.  Repurposing content that adds value to a particular audience provides benefit to publishers and those seeking valuable information.

Don't just publish new content, promote it.  This is how to optimize the value of what you have to offer and continually improve your brand, reach, and revenue!

Brand Update : Axe Extends to Soaps

Axe deo , the market leader in the Rs 1000 crore Indian deo market has extended itself to soaps. In the typical Unilever style of experimenting with successful brands the current guinea pig brand is Axe. The rationale is very simple  a) The soap market is witnessing a growth while deo market is now full of competition

b) With Cinthol brand becoming unisex, there is a vacuum for a men's soap brand and Axe is the best fit for filling the gap.

c) The lure for incremental profits from an established brand.

Indian soap market is around Rs 6500 crore and the men's grooming market is around Rs 1500 crore ( Economic Times). The brand may be looking to become an umbrella brand endorsing multiple products across the men's grooming category. The big question is whether these extensions will make the original deo brand vulnerable ? 

I think so.

I wonder why Axe is being extended when there is so much competition in the deo market. Axe is now attacked both on positioning front as well as on product attributes front. The Axe positioning is aped by most of the deo brands to the point that everything is so predictable and boring. Now HUL is further diluting the brand by its extension into a different category. 

The new extension carries the same positioning as the Original Axe brand . Axe bathing bar has the tagline " Engineered for Guys ". The ad campaign follows the same theme as the Axe Deo brand.

Watch the ad here : Axe Deo

Priced at a premium of Rs 35, Axe expects the brand loyalists to be the early adopters for this brand. HUL will be leveraging on its huge distribution strength and its reach to make sure that Axe Bathing Bar is available across the markets. To be fair to this experiment, Axe globally also is extended to various categories like Body Wash, Talcum powder etc but none of the extensions has been as successful as the original product. The same will be the case in the case of Axe Soap also. 

What Makes a Marketing Executive Angry - Marketing Metrics and More

Over the last year or so, I've been working with a variety of companies to improve their marketing results.  And I find it interesting, actually no, infuriating when people don't know their numbers. This is true in general but even more important when it comes to marketing.

Let's talk numbers for a minute.  When you look at the technical side of marketing it really comes down to costs, revenue, and profit.  At the end of the day, if you're spending $100,000 on marketing and generate $100,000 in revenue, you're going out of business fast!  Your marketing shouldn't just cover costs, it must generate a profit. Following marketing campaigns from initiation all the way through to profitability is everyone's responsibility.

Key Marketing Metrics
A question I often get is what are the key marketing metrics everyone should know.  From my vantage point it all depends on your role but everyone has numbers they need to be responsible for.  Take the designer for example.  You might be asking what numbers a designer needs to know.  The reality is that the best designers can tell you that a 3-panel brochure generated more leads and conversions than a 4-panel brochure.  This point is even more pronounced when you look at web designers.  Does a green button convert at a higher rate than a yellow button?  If you're a web designer, you better know your friggin' numbers!

Another area of great concern is email marketing.  You must go beyond delivery and open rates.  What are your click-through rates, average order size, lifetime value of a customer?  ...you gotta know your numbers.

Better Numbers Mean Better Results
I'd argue that the correlation between knowing your numbers and marketing success is VERY high.  If you know each of the inputs you have control over and what they currently produce, you can begin to test and try alternatives - measuring the effectiveness of each campaign.  This ensures continuous improvement and results.

When I hire marketing people I always ask about their understanding of and use of metrics.  Yes, even the copywriter.  They should be able to answer information about split testing (A/B) and long form vs. short form.  In a nutshell no marketer is immune from number responsibility.  Know your numbers and you'll not only improve your effectiveness as a marketer, you'll also raise the bar for your organization.

If you're not sure where to start, ask the following question, "What's the goal?"  By knowing the outcome you want and working backwards, its easy to determine how best to get there.  Looking to put more people into your sales funnel?  Okay, how do you know when you've added someone to the funnel?  Is that a phone call, an email, a contact form on the website or all of the above?  Are you tracking them? Once you understand the outcomes, start asking about inputs. How many completed contact forms do you receive on a daily or weekly basis?

After developing a scorecard of key performance indicators (KPIs), its time to improve upon your results through testing.  What if you shortened the contact form?  Made is longer?  Eliminated some required fields?  What would your completion rates look like?  Again, start with the end in mind and work backwards to determine what inputs you can begin to manage more effectively.

The key is to get started today.  What are the 2 - 3 key performance indicators you need to start monitoring.  After a couple of weeks, begin your testing and measuring results.  You'll be well on your way to improved performance.

Roma Switches : India's Largest Selling Modular Switches

Brand : Roma
Company : Anchor ( Panasonic)

Brand Analysis Count : 516

Indian switch market is estimated to be around INR1800 crore and is dominated by Anchor with a share of 50%. Anchor Electricals which is one of India's largest electrical  products company was formed in 1963 and virtually created the branded electrical accessory market in India. The company effectively filled the need for quality and reliable electrical products in a market dominated by unorganized players.

In 1976, the company launched India's first Piano type switch with the sub-brand Roma. The product was highly successful and Roma became India's largest selling modular switch. ( Source : superbrand). In 2007, Anchor was taken over by Panasonic and now is a subsidiary of the global giant.

Roma is the market leader in the INR 800 crore modular switch market. The brand was earlier promoted as a sub-brand of Anchor ( Anchor Roma) and was heavily supported by the company interms of its brand building efforts.

Anchor should be very much appreciated for building a brand in a boring product category like switches. The brand was able to change consumer's perception about products like modular switches. One has to take into account that consumers where not considering switches as style statements but as a functional product.

Roma was promoted by Anchor by highlighting its aesthetics and reliability. The brand earlier had the tagline " Zindagi Khubsoorat Banaye "  Watch the ad here : Anchor Roma 

After the acquisition by Panasonic ,  Roma was elevated as an individual brand endorsed by "  Anchor by Panasonic " . Roma also launched its premium range branded as Romoa Viola and promoted by a hyperbole type ad.

Roma is again in the consumer's mindspace because of the new campaign revolving around the brand's claim of being the " Largest selling modular switch brand in India". In positioning parlance, the brand has taken on Category Positioning .
Watch the ads here : Roma Butterfly ad
                                Roma Marble Ad
The ads are created for only one purpose i.e to highlight the fact that Roma is the best selling switches in the country. The brand also have the tagline " India's largest selling modular switches ". This is a straight textbook strategy of owning up the category and positioning as the category leader.
The basic premise of the campaign is that consumers are not aware of the leadership position and the brand wants to remind them so as to assure that they are buying the market leading brand. Although the theme of the ad, its setting has a total disconnect with the product, the campaign however drives the message to the mind of the consumer.
I remember Orpat and Ajanta brands positioning on the platform of being the " Largest ". Being the largest, biggest, etc give some kind of an assurance to the consumers regarding the quality, reliablity , support etc.
Although being the " Largest " has its own set of  advantages, Roma needs to cover its flanks because lot of brands like Legrand, Havell etc were able carve out mindspace by positioning on aesthetics , reliability etc.Harping on being " The Largest " may not be enough.

Do You Know What Your Customers Want?

One of the great things about consulting for different companies in many different industries is that I get to see a lot of things that work and a lot of things that don't.  And recently I've noticed a real divide between businesses that do hardly any marketing and those who do way too much marketing.  Is there such a thing?  Yes!

Take for example the local store that gets your email address because of a contest or in store sign up.  Perhaps you gave your name and email in exchange for the promise of some really great discounts.  Within a few days you were bombarded with email after email offering discounts on a variety of items throughout the store.  You may have had some interest initially but now the emails are just pissing you off.

What happens now you might be asking yourself.  I can tell you that when local venues get marketing crazy... they annoy their customers and chase away prospects.  In fact, I've stopped going to some of the stores that have sent me email after email.  Of course you can always chose to opt-out, and I have, but there's more to it.  The reality is that stores who don't respect my time or communication preferences don't really care about me - they're just pushing product.

Don't Be So Desperate
People and businesses have a lot in common. Appear desperate and no one wants to be around you.  People certainly aren't going to keep coming back to you again and again.  And when local shops press hard on sending emails (because it's relatively easy), they only drive their customers off the proverbial cliff.  

In order to nurture a relationship with you audience, you must first understand what your customers want.  When you ask someone for personal information like a name or email, ask them for information about their preferences.  What categories of products are they most interested in?  How often do they like to shop?  What are they looking to get from you?  Customer's may surprise you with their answers or clarify what you may already know.

As a side note, I'm a big believer that you can't lead with a discount.  If you do you're telling your customers and prospects that you offer a commodity product.  When customers can't tell a difference between your product and someone else's, you have no choice but to discount price.  Products that are unique command a higher price point and create more value.

I Know You, Now What
My answer is simple, be respectful of the people you market to.  If I ask for information about your newest products, then send it to me.  If I've already told you that I don't want to hear from you, don't.  Be respectful of your customers and prospects and you'll cultivate meaningful relationships.  In fact, you can truly cultivate and grow your relationships with customers for years to come, maybe even turn them into advocates.

Local companies that do a good job of building relationships have an easier time growing their business. This is because most people make purchases based on recommendations.  It's certainly much easier to ask for a referral from someone who is satisfied as opposed to someone who is annoyed.  Before you start sending tons of emails to people who have little or no interest in your product, focus on what you know.

Don't Leave It To Chance
One mistake I see local businesses make all the time is taking a once-and-done marketing approach.  They get some customer information, open a Constant Contact or Aweber account and think they've got it made. You have to realize though, people change.  As such the marketing you do today must change in the future.  The most effective marketers take purchase information and use it to evolve their communications - this is the difference maker.

Think about how you can communicate to your customers based on what they've purchased and the preferences you've identified.  As you engage prospects, learn from their actions (what they do and don't do) to help inform future communications.  These distinctions can set you apart from other struggling to grow their business.

Denim : For the man who doesn't have to try too hard

Brand : Denim
Company : Hindustan Unilever

Brand Analysis Count : 515

Denim is one of the oldest deodorant brands in India. Although the brand's original launch date is not known, the brand is in existence even before Axe deo's launch in 1996. The brand had a fair share in the Indian market before being eclipsed by Axe Deo. 

Axe deodorant's launch was the event that triggered the near annihilation of Denim brand in India. Axe virtually captured the entire male deodorant market and Denim was left in the sidelines. 

HUL felt that there was no need for two brands with almost similar brand personalities and decided to choose Axe as the major focus area.During that time, there was a brand rationalization exercise code named " Power Brand" strategy where Levers decided to prune the number of brands in its portfolio.

How ever Denim had a small but loyal customer base ( like me). There was something innate for the brand which forced HUL to retain the brand but not as a standalone brand. In 2002, Denim was merged with Axe . Denim had a reasonable presence in the men's grooming market with Talcum Powder ( 4% share) , After Shave ( 18%) and Shaving Cream (8%). The deo was retained as a Product Line Extension of Axe and other products were axed. 

From then on, Denim was staying in the Indian market as a variant thus satisfying many loyal consumers who ware initially charmed by the fragrance, brand name and the character of this brand.

In early 2012, HUL began to turn its attention to Denim . Without much promotion, Denim was  again relaunched as an independent brand. Denim was heavily pushed at the retailer shelves as a low priced deo and Axe endorsement was removed. When most of the deos were at Rs 130 -200 price point, Denim was retailed at Rs 100. Now the company have started promoting Denim through television campaigns. 

Watch the ad here : Denim Deo ad 

The brand retains the original positioning and the classic tagline " For the man who doesn't have to try too hard". 

The Denim brand has moved from an Independent brand to a Line Extension and then to an Independent brand. The brand name has moved from Denim to Axe Denim and to Denim. Where in the marketing textbook we see such a branding strategy !!! We can see these kind of funny experiments only from HUL which houses the best marketing minds of India. In a span of ten years a brand being repositioned twice and brand name changed twice !!

One thing needs to be appreciated is that even though Denim was migrated to Axe, HUL made sure that Denim's brand character is not lost by retaining the brand elements like the color. This has helped the firm to relaunch Denim as an independent brand without confusing the consumer. 

Denim is now the low priced flanker brand for Axe. Denim will protect the Axe brand from the low priced local brands which is nibbling away Axe's share by imitating the positioning. Denim also stands a chance to develop volume from the loyalists and also those looking for a VFM deo brand. 

As a consumer who loved the brand, I am happy that Denim had regained its individuality.Beyond price, there is some powerful brand elements like the brand name , fragrance and a character that still have potential to make this a worthwhile player in the deo category.