I just have to get this off my chest.

Terry O’Reilly’s new CBC show, Under the Influence, is tagged as the delicate dialogue between the customer and the company. It’s very fashionable. In the age of social media, consumers can, without a question, influence products.

But let’s remember the power of marketing to influence.

Steve Jobs used this mantra: “How does the consumer know what they want unless we tell them?”

Today’s marketers must walk the delicate balance of dialogue and decision. Even in today’s social media biased environment, the spreadsheet tells the story. Romney, who placed almost last in social media dialogue, won the Iowa primary. While a lot of people showed their support through quick and easy social media apps — the people who got in their car, drove to the polling station and actually voted made the decision. A surprising one if pollsters were counting on a parallel between social media and actions.

Today’s creative marketer must integrate the learning, listening to the dialogue and believing the spreadsheets. In the end, we need to sell our product or service.

At the dawn of 2012, we shake off the sweet memories of chocolate and Christmas pudding, New Year’s Eve fireworks, wine and food and family… and get back to work.

I made Jello with raspberries for Christmas dinner. I wanted to see the sticky sweet redness melt into mouth watering turkey and merge with rich turkey gravy. Because it reminded me of Christmas at my grandma’s house.

So I have had my moment to look back…

It’s time to move foreward…

On January 2, 2012 the economy continues to stutter. Europe’s struggle throws a shadow on Canadian confidence. Americans are tentatively hopeful that the housing market has hit the lowest ebb and that the 2% increase of the past months is a sign of a turn around. Almost 7 million people activated smart phones and tablets over the holidays. More than $35 billion was purchased on-line. Markets continue to believe that the future in on-line and digital.

Barefoot is investing in technology and talent.

But we are not stopping there… we believe that the future of marketing is:

1. Relevance

2. Agility

3. Imagination

Forever Lazy eclipsed the Snuggie this year. Next year, the  cozy fleece lounge wear will be a hilarious video and somewhat embarrassing memory. And something else will find its way to the shopping channel.

If you are building a serious business, your product/service must be relevant. Your marketing must be relevant. The digital world, here to stay, has had its fling with Angry Bird — and there will be another Diversion for game addicts to use as an amusing time waster. But long term, business growth comes from your ability to be relevant in product and in pitch. I have many opportunities to engage in conversations about new business ideas. Too often, the entrepreneur  has not thought about relevance.

About a decade ago, my brother (a voice actor) did the voice over for a commercial for a canned tuna salad product. The commercial was cool and caught the attention of many people. The produce seemed to be relevant in a time pressed society. But the product tasted horrible. The ad got people to the store, but it was a one off. This Christmas, we were able to double and triple the web traffic for a client by advertising. Yet the overall sales did not increase as much as we hoped. The offer was relevant enough to draw potential customers. We now have to study the web site, the product mix and the overall product quality to understand why sales only increased marginally.

I get hundreds of emails. I actively follow Twitter. I browse Facebook. I read blogs. I am online between 6 and 12 hours a day (maybe more, but that’s just pathetic). I am becoming more and more impatient with irrelevant messages.

In the 90’s, marketers were agog with CRM (Customer Relationship Marketing). The rise of Direct Response allowed for personalization through digital print. We have even greater knowledge and flexibility for personalization today — but we are wasting our efforts by sending out “blasts” instead of personalized versions of our messaging. Relevance will lead to engaged customers. That means you need to understand what the customer wants. Talk to them. Engage them. Listen to them. Begin to think about your marketing in an integrated fashion.

In today’s digital market we need to be AGILE. But as RIM found, some things don’t turn around on a dime. Product needs time to be developed, designed and produced. Agility requires integrated tactics that embrace the whole corporation. Clever, agile marketers understand the influence of each product line and message. They understand the benefit of a strong brand and are able to introduce each product, service and concept to the audience within the strength of that brand.

And they have to do it fast.

Agile marketers take the time to test and analyze. Focus group information is vital — but testing customer response by real time reports will tell you a lot more. What the customer/donor says isn’t always what the customer/donor does. Testing and analyzing may be tedious and old school — but it will help you build agility into your game.

We idealize imagination. We talk about Steve Jobs as if he was a guru of imagination. But he really his brilliance was his gut inspired instinct. He understood the power of design and marketing and positioned his product boldly. I want to be careful how we idealize imagination. Imagination starts with a goal. Brilliant minds understand where they want to go and have a pretty good idea of how to get there. They they apply imagination to their knowledge to reach their goal.

Today’s environment is intriguingly void of imagination. When my boys were teenagers, they regularly hosted LAN parties. Back in those days, it meant that they had to network a whole bunch of different computers — by hard wiring them together. The lack of consistent protocols meant that it would take hours before they were up and running. Today — they just play in an interactive web environment. They can have the same group experience with absolutely no effort. Their teenage experience prepared them for careers in IT — because they imagined a roomful of friends all playing the same game, they found a way to work around the challenges. They had a goal, they understood the rudiments of the system — then, by applying imagination, they were able to do it.

Relevance, agility and imagination are critical.

Yes, our world is changing. It is faster, bigger and more connected.

My New Years Resolution?

To learn, to listen, to watch, to understand … and to apply new ideas with relevance, agility and imagination.

Merriam Webster just posted the most often searched words for 2011. These ten little words gives us good insight into today’s societal trends. For instance, the most often searched word is Pragmatic, the second Ambivalence. Both words relate to a mood and feeling, rather than to an event. They describe how people feel.

People are looking for pragmatic, or logical rather than idealistic, decisions in the face of a shaky economy. While Canadians have not yet experienced the full threat of failing economic systems, they are looking for their government to be practical and effective in assuring them that their current lifestyle is not at risk. Looking to the housing disaster in America and the fall of economic structures in Europe, Canadians, already known for their pragmatism, watch and wait.

Ambivalence is also a mood reflected by society today. Ambivalence means “simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feeling toward an object, person or action” and :continue fluctuation between one thing and its opposite. John Morse, the President and Publisher of Merriam-Webster says: “We are struck by the unusually large volume of lookups for this word. We think it reflects the public attitude toward a wide range of issues, including the economy…”

Also in the top ten are: insidious, didactic, austerity, diversity, capitalism, socialism, vitriol, and après moi le déluge.

A couple of days ago a little tweet announced “KW is raining Playbooks.”

For a marketer, the conversation surrounding tablets is fascinating. RIM has been seriously impacted in North America in the social media space. It seems like everyone is on the edge of their key board waiting for another RIM blunder.

Reviewers have been unkind to the Playbook. Yesterday, blogger Marc Saltzman used the phrase “fun but flawed.”

I have to admit, it’s amusing.

I think Steve Jobs clearly and succinctly articulated marketing intelligence with just one concept: “The consumer knows what they want when we tell them.”

So he told them.

He scoffed at focus groups (I’m there with you Steve). His foundational belief was that the consumer would know what they wanted when he told them. And he went on to prove it.

He was a genius who intuitively understood the human mind. Mass marketing proves, time and time again, that human behaviour is predictable. We are creatures of habit. When the pied piper plays we march, joyfully and freely, behind. When the king appears in the parade with no clothes, the crowd oooo’s and ahhhh’s at his fancy new suit. Well, except for the little boy who didn’t read the press release.

Jobs loved beautiful things. No one, with any sense of aesthetic, can call the Playbook pretty. It’s solid, boxy and, even though it’s half the weight of the iPad, it seems a little chunky. Jobs invested in little things that made Apple products beautiful to touch.

Finally, his goal was to control. In search of complete control, he maximized the power of human laziness. The simple iTunes one click buys all is pure genius. It is rare that we have such an seamless and painless buying experience. That’s why iPad users are happy to be completely controlled by Steve’s amazing store.

We need to learn from Apple.

OK… back to the fire sale.

As the one lone voice in my office trying to prop up RIM as a viable alternative, I am very curious as to the impact of RIM’s recent fire sale. On the positive side, RIM is confident in its product, betting that getting the technology into the hands of the people will help them see just how well it works. It didn’t work for HP, but RIM (I’m hoping) will stand behind its product.

On the negative side, it’s a really rough road.

Social media is killing the Playbook. Wired Magazine’s review says: “In the absence of a Home button, there’s a new UI convention to learn…” Loaded words like “absent” immediately imply that there is something missing. Yeah — that irritating home button. The Playbook is amazing… it wakes up with a simple swipe and I never have to bother with the nasty home button. But you see, it’s all positioning. The reviewer, already trained by the series of iProducts to return again and again to the home button, found the intuitive, simple swipes confusing.

The fight is just beginning. The tablet is here to stay. The “cloud” is just starting to form.

I don’t know if RIM’s strategy of pricing themselves into the market will work.  I still believe there is a lot of power in marketing. If they don’t shore up their brand identity and start thinking like their audience, they may continue to slip in popularity. The tablet market only has one player right now — and that’s Apple. The launch of a whole raft of e-readers and other tablets has started a little flurry at the secondary starting line, but we don’t know how that will pan out.  Apple, first out of the gate, is way ahead of everyone.

But in the parallel Smart Phone market, there’s a real race… and the Android is edging out Blackberry and Apple.

It’s going to be fun to watch.

Canadians trust advertising. In a study by the Gandalf Group, released on Wednesday, Canadians want advertisers to be held accountable to standards of integrity.But, overall, they trust the advertising they see in Canadian media. They haven’t quite come over to online advertising, but it’s growing.

As advertisers, it’s our job to understand the products and services we promote. Our copy, images and postitioning takes the truth and tells a story that interests consumers. Again, very simply, that’s our job.

This spring we had the honour to do the press for Mennonite Girls Can Cook.

When the publisher approached us, I just couldn’t walk away. After all, each recipe celebrates my past and makes me think of my mother’s floury hands punching out light as air buns. The cookbook just had so many, honestly, almost naive, good moments.

And advertising is all about the story.

It all started with one woman’s search for Paska, a traditional Mennonite Easter bread. That inspired the beginnings of a blog, that soon turned into a recipe of the day. With over a million hits, the publisher encouraged the women to think about publishing a hard cover book. These enterprising women cooked their hearts out. The end product was an engaging book that tells a story of simple hospitality.

There’s a couple of great press angles.

First of all, the women did it on their own…. recipes, concepts, photos, copy. It’s really an “at home” production that’s pretty awesome.

Secondly, they celebrated their culture and made it relevant to today. For those unfamiliar with the Mennonite tradition, Mennonite women, historically, fed a lot of people. Even I know that a recipe for bread that requires a dozen eggs makes a lot of bread. And it’s unlikely that it will fit into my nifty little modern mixer. The women get this. So they have adjusted the recipes for the modern home.

Thirdly, they have tested and tried recipes that they found written on the back of envelopes tucked in their grandmothers’ kitchen drawers. They have translated a “handful of” into actual measurements and “add enough flour to make a soft dough” into a more literal account.

Finally, they understand today’s need for simplicity and relationship. The overarching theme of the book is family and friends. We can picture these women in jeans and a sweat shirt, sharing a cup of coffee and a cinnamon bun with a neighbour. We can imagine their dusty apron hanging beside a child-sized replica as they taste homemade cookies with their grandchildren.

This is a feel good book.

So we took the honesty and integrity, already found in the book and the story behind the book, and simply told the story.

That’s what I love about advertising!

P.S. The publisher just learned that Mennonite Girls Can Cook is the number one selling gift cookbook on amazon.com….. I love that too!

I’ve been tossing the idea of micropayments around in my mind. For the purpose of this blog, I’m assuming that micr0payments include small purchases of $0.01 to $12.

Without a question, iTunes and Amazon have illustrated the increased revenue behind micro-payments. Obama successfully captured the interest of the masses by making it possible for them to donate to his campaign through micropayments. His micropayment technique garnered huge revenues, much to his competitors’ surprise who continued to have banquets and woo rich oil men.

Micropayment is all about making things accessible to the public in small amounts that are not easily tracked. Well, they are easily tracked, but they are so insignificant that the purchasers make them without thinking.

I have to say, I was pretty surprised how quickly a $100 gift certificate to my Kobo account was depleted. When so many books are between $5 and $10, it seems so easy to click and buy. The entire app world is simple. When my 80 year old father who had just been indoctrinated into the mysteries of sudoku visited, it was just a click to load up an app on my Playbook for him to mess around with. The price seems negligible when a book of puzzles costs somewhere between $5 and $10.

Angry Birds hit about $70 million in revenue in March and Bejeweled is already above that. These are nonsensical, repetitive, low-brain-use apps that we use to waste time. (We used to day dream). We are willing to buy them for less than a $1 — because after all, it’s only a fraction of the cost of a Starbuck’s coffee — and we can play them while we enjoy the free wifi at the coffee shop.

Understanding the power of the micropayment is really understanding the mass — it’s the most powerful direct marketing tool of the next generation.

But there are a few key components you have to meet to make them successful:

1. They have to be easy to purchase. Micro-payments can tolerate 2 clicks — no more.

2. They have to be something someone wants… OK we can argue that no one wants Angry Birds. But that’s really about the power of word-of-mouth and the peer pressure to be digitally cool. After all, if your kid’s friend’s dad lets them play Angry Birds, your kid will let you know, find the app on your phone and encourage you to click.

3. They have to be worth the price. $12 for a newly published book that is $39 in the book store is tolerable. $5 for a tune by a no-name band is not. But we may eek up our iTunes payment to $1.29 to get the latest by Bieber (Well, someone might….)  You can purchase Gordon Lightfoot for $0.69.

4. Something — digital media, press, word-of-mouth, advertising — must carry the burden of getting the customer to the micropayment zone. Apple, Amazon, Black Berry App World all carry significant weight. Angry Birds is just noisy enough to capture the attention of customers. As apps proliferate, it will become more difficult to permeate the market. I would argue that the early days of easy wins for apps may be past.

Micropayments are only beginning. when our smart phones (and smart phone users) become more intuitive to purchases there will be many, many more applications. Let the imagination flow…

Writing effective marketing is hard work…

It’s about taking what you know about the product, the audience and current trends and writing something that connects with the audience.

It sounds so easy — but it takes time, talent and tenacity.

Understanding human nature is the basic skill required of a marketing writer. They should understand trends — not depend on their own response to things. I am rarely the market audience. If I write to my own desires and motivations, I will fail. Technology companies often fail. Their owners and experts are techies. They often sell products that are used by non-technical people.

We did a brand campaign and initial marketing package for en EDI software developer. Like you, I had no idea what EDI was, why it was important and why companies would pay tens of thousands of dollars for this software package. The developers, techies, gave me a robust and ubiquitous description. None of which appealed to their audience, who were managers of shipping departments. We needed to get inside the head of the men and women who were invoicing Walmart, Sears, The Bay and other department stores — because this software translated their invoice requirements. So a company selling to multiple retail outlets could send out invoices to all of the different software solutions of their customers by using one translation software. Basically, this solution saved time, money and frustration.

It took us a long time to edit out the technical language and speak on the terms of the customer. Because, in the minds of the owner and developers, the programming was what made the difference.

Using words that capture the imagination of the customer is extremely important. Our writing must be true, filled with integrity and poignant. In many ways, we tell the same story as the product developers and program leaders — we just use different words

Purple Feather, a UK web content developer, did a great job at producing a short clip on the power of words…. check it out:

I just returned from a client trip to Alberta. The trip made it possible to spend 7 1/2 hours in close proximity courtesy of West Jet. Driving from Calgary to Edmonton sandwiched us in a little rental for another 4ish hours. While we admired the lovely Alberta autumn, we also spent considerable time talking about the challenges of developing a focused marketing campaign.

The discussion reminded me of many chats I had with undergraduate literature students who were baffled by the concept of a thesis statement.For those of you who slept through first year English, an academic essay is a simple configuration of thesis, argument, conclusion (forgive me, Dr. Jon — I know you have sweated over this). A marketing piece follows the exact plan.

Before you even touch the keys of your computer, iPad or generic tablet, you must be able to articulate a 17 word thesis statement — in marketing we call it the offer. The offer is what you want people to do. It’s not the program, the product or the organizational mandate. It is a clear and concise articulation of exactly what your customer or donor is to respond to. If you are producing a direct marketing piece, the wisdom is: write the response device first. You can’t write an effective response device without understanding the offer (“Yes, I want to support your cause” does not qualify as an effective response device.)

The second phase of your marketing piece is wrapped up in the why…. why does your customer or donor want to respond? This is tricky — remember, it’s not why YOU want them to respond, it’s why they want to. You have to use your understanding of your offer and get into the minds of the customer/donors and understand what arguments would convince them to say “Yes!”

All of us do this at some time. I am excellent at positioning with my husband all the time (OK, I’m in marketing and he’s a musician — it’s hardly fair)…. while I completely understand my NEED for a selection of fashionable footwear for every season, he needs a little more persuasion to see the benefit to him. Stand in the shoes (no pun intended) of your customer or donor. Look at the world from their perspective. Then convince them.

Finally, you need to wrap it up. The final push for sales requires a precise offer and specific action. People will do what you tell them. I realize that in our sophisticated and intellectually astute environment, we often feel that the specific offer is pedantic and patronizing. But look at your piece from the perspective of your customer/donor. Your know what you want them to do (buy or give). But is it clear to them?

A client came to us complaining of decreased results. They had done donor surveys and the overwhelming evidence pointed to a very loyal and contended donor base. Yet, the revenue was dropping annually. After studying the material, we quickly figured the glitch in the system. The new fund raising material was positioned as information and updates. When we pushed the donors for more information, they said: “We love what you’re doing — and you’re so good at it. But Organization X really needs our money.” The marketing team had stripped the offer right out of the material…. the donors responded as expected. They loved the information and went in search of another organization who really needed their gifts.

Ooops……

So dig out your texts from Essay Writing 101: The thesis is king (offer!).  The argument convinces the audience (not the board or lawyers). The conclusion is the final opportunity to convince your audience — it comes full circle and marries the argument with the thesis, confirming your offer.

There is much speculation about the possibility to gain and retain loyalty from today’s donors. Today’s donors react against the past modern era and live in a culture we call “post-modernism.” Post modern donors exhibit the following characteristics:

1. While moderns rejected the past, post moderns are open to the past when set in context. They are sophisticated enough to understand that all things are born out of their history. Unlike the moderns, they do not buy in to the mystery of elitism, but rather the playfulness of the popular.
2. Post-modern culture is cynical about institution for institution sake.
3. Demographics tend to get blurred. Traditional demographics like geography, age, profession and income are no longer a reliable prediction of opinion.
4. This generation believes that the world revolves around them. They are unapologetically self-centred.
5. Internet, television, books and other media distribute vast amounts of easily accessed information.
6. Change is good. Most people will have from 3 to 6 careers in their life time. They will move to new areas of their cities, their nation and globally. They are not afraid to re-invent and re-create themselves.

What does this mean for fundraisers?

1. Reject false elitism and celebrate your history. President’s clubs and “membership” is less appealing to this generation. They respond well to “meaningful” elitism and like to be on the cusp of a new ideas or new movements.
2. They gravitate to successful organizations. They want to come alongside a success story, not a struggling or falsely pompous organization.
3. They are highly motivated by a cause they believe in. They want to be inspired and respond poorly to joining for philanthropic good.
4. All communication with them must centre on them. Reject the organizational “we” for “you” and “I”.
5. They will test your information for the truth. They have a broader understanding of overall issues than past supporters. They also may have more misinformation than past supporters.
6. Controlled and logical change makes sense to them. They are willing to increase monthly payments if it makes sense. They are willing to pay by the month from their bank or credit card because it makes sense to them.

Can we expect loyalty from our supporters?

There is no doubt that we can expect loyalty from our supporters. We have an opportunity to inspire and motivate people across the world to make our cause theirs.

An interesting topic to perk up a cool, fall Friday afternoon.

An intriguing idea in marketing. How well are we, as marketers, using our erotic capital. According to studies, men are far ahead of women in capitalizing their erotic assets.

You see, Dr. Catherine Hakim of the London School of Economics, argues that women are underusing their own erotic capital. In the advertising world, this is a hot topic. One agency in TO suggested that each one of their staff members have their teeth whitened to enhance their overall marketing power. As a creative director, I know the importance of looking the part (in most creative circles, that’s all about black… )

As I listened to the conversation on the Current, I wondered if our gut reaction to the topic limits our marketing power. Of course women (or men, for that matter) don’t reach boardrooms on sexual prowess (and, yes, I did consciously choose to omit the use of table). Of course women, to reach corporate heights need to develop their skill, intellect and corporate expertise. Of course, it’s not about sex.

Susan G. Cole, feminist, activist and columnist in NOW TO, was quick to jump into the dialogue and state that this study brought us back to the 50’s when women and smooth mashed potatoes were synonymous (OK, the reference to mashed potatoes is mine). It fascinated me that, in our enlightened sexual state, that we would quickly pick out the feminine physical assets. Especially when Dove has worked to hard to convince us that all women are beautiful (well, when under the masterful hands of a make up artist and skill photoshop artist).

Hakim lists erotic capital as: facial beauty, fit body, social charm, active socially, dressing for the occasion and sexual competence (not required for the work place).  What the interview couldn’t get was that Hakim stressed that charm and dress where the most important for the work place. The empirical evidence clearly indicates that charming, well-dressed men and women had higher positions, made more money and were more likely to be included in networking groups.

How could a marketer be surprised?

We know through years of experience, that brands that have charm, are well positioned and dressed for the audience do better. We know that charm (the power to convince) is the key to the pitch. We understand that dressing for the occasion is critical.

We also know that it’s not about sex. Sexual innuendos and allusions are easy — they are the girls at car shoes and boys at fashion shows. They are the oiled skin of body builders and cleavage at clubs.  Charm is much more sophisticated, building on the inner personality of the product. Charm really is the essence of Dove . Charming sophistication is what makes Meryl Streep and Judy Dench continue to hold centre stage.

But, when I did a little research on You Tube, my whole argument for charm and sophistication was blown apart. Nissan’s We Make Them ad http://www.youtube.com/user/nissancommercials?blend=2&ob=4#p/c/8CF506309C7E2D19 has just over 4,000 hits. Nissan’s Pathfinder commercial  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKO-tZGuFDg has just over 10 million . You tell me whether we are attracted to sheer sexuality or charming sophistication.