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Effective Advertising Workshops Newsletter
Volume III Issue 10
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Dear Reader,
We enjoyed meeting everyone in Boston and look forward to our return next year. The grand total for 2009 will be 20 markets. The best thing is learning more and more how businesses are taking advantage of our program, learning how to use television to their advantage, and growing their business, albeit, in some difficult times. Our advertiser testimonials now number 23, from restaurants to hardware stores, electrical contractors to funeral homes, attorneys to weight management, and furniture to hearing aids. Chances are we have a business that does what you do and will share how they made our program work in their city. Contact us at info@easworkshops.com and we'll search the files for a comparable business.
Many of you know how we favor branding your business, creating top-of-mind-awareness, and getting your business at the top of the ladder in people's minds. Of equal importance, according to Al Reis and Jack Trout, it is better to be first than best in your category (Irrefutable Laws of Marketing). If you are not first, develop a new category in which you can be first. One of the classic campaigns utilizing this theory was Avis. Realizing they could not be first in the rental car category, they had great success with "We Try Harder, We're #2".
Next month we will share some other Reis and Trout findings from this book.
In this month's issue we have an article by Robert Passikoff, President and Founder of Brand Keys.
He offers 10 trends for marketers for 2010.
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| Ten Trends for Marketers in 2010 |
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Robert Passikoff offers 10 trends for marketers for 2010 that will have direct consequences to the success -or failure - of next year's branding and marketing efforts.
1) Value is the new black
Consumer spending, even on sale items, will continue to be replaced by a reason-to-buy at all. This spells trouble for brands with no authentic meaning, whether high-end or low.
2) Brands are increasingly a surrogate for "value"
What makes goods and services valuable will increasingly be what's wrapped up in the brand and what it stands for. Why J Crew instead of The Gap? J Crew stands for a new era in careful chic - - being smart and stylish. The First Family's support of the brand doesn't hurt either.
3) Brand differentiation is Brand Value
The unique meaning of a brand will increase in importance as generic features continue to plague the brand landscape. Awareness as a meaningful market force has long been obsolete, and differentiation will be critical for success - - meaning sales and profitability.
4) "Because I Said So" is over
Brand values can be established as a brand identity, but they must believably exist in the mind of the consumer. A brand can't just say
it stands for something and make it so. The consumer will decide, making it more important than ever for a brand to have a measure of authenticity that will aid in brand differentiation and consumer engagement.
5) Consumer expectations are growing
Brands are barely keeping up with consumer expectations now. Every day, consumers adopt and devour the latest technologies and innovations, and hunger for more. Smarter marketers will identify and capitalize on unmet expectations. Those brands that understand where the strongest expectations exist will be the brands that survive - - and prosper.
6) Old tricks don't work anymore
In case your brand didn't get the memo, here it is - - consumers are onto brands trying to play their emotions for profit. In the wake of the financial debacle of this past year, people are more aware than ever of the hollowness of bank ads that claim "we're all in this together" when those same banks have rescinded their credit and turned their retirement plan into case studies. The same is true for insincere celebrity pairings: Think Seinfeld & Microsoft or Tiger Woods & Buick. Celebrity values and brands need to be in concert, like Tiger Woods & Accenture. That's authenticity.
7) They won't need to know you to love you
As the buying space becomes even more online-driven and international (and uncontrolled by brands and corporations), front-end awareness will become less important. A brand with the right street cred can go viral in days, with awareness following - - not leading - - the conversation. After all, everybody knows GM, but nobody's buying their cars.
8) It's not just buzz
Conversation and community is all; eBay thrives on consumer feedback. If consumers trust the community, they will extend trust to the brand. Not just word of mouth, but the right word of mouth within the community. This means the coming of a new era of customer care.
9) They're talking to each other before talking to the brand
Social networking and exchange of information outside the brand space will increase. Look for more Web sites using Facebook Connect to share information with friends from those sites. More companies will become members of Linkedin. Twitter users will spend more money on the Internet than those who don't tweet.
10) Engagement is not a fad; it's the way today's consumers do business
Marketers will come to accept that there are four engagement methods, including Platform (TV; online), Context (Program; webpage), Message (Ad or Communication), and Experience (Store/Event). But there is only one objective for the future: Brand Engagement. Marketers will continue to realize that attaining real brand engagement is impossible using outdated attitudinal models.
Accommodating these trends will require a paradigm change on the part of some companies. But whether a brand does something about it or not, the future is where it will spend the rest of its life. How long that life lasts is up to the brand, determined by how it responds to today's reality.
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| 20 Seconds to Live or Die |
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When consumers make purchase decisions, they're spending anywhere from 10 to 20 seconds - according to surveys and  research conducted by consumer behavior experts. Studies show that consumers ignore up to two-thirds of category products when they shop. That kind of statistic points to just how difficult it is to successfully package products. And clearly demonstrates why so many products fail at retail.
No matter how compelling consumer product marketing might be, the actual sale is made at the retail shelf. Packaging is the tangible representation of brand and product, and if it fails to make an impression, it adds up to numerous lost sales.
The first thing we need to realize is that packaging is about selling first. Communication and persuasion is job No. 1. Not aesthetics. Package designers and marketers may ooh and aah over beautiful packaging, but remember: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It's subjective, and each consumer responds differently to aesthetics.
Communication sells but it has to be the right kind of communication. It has to be grounded in an effectively conceived and managed brand strategy. When consumers approach the retail shelf, even brand loyalists are increasingly assessing which product to buy, seeking the optimal value for their money in a tough economy.
They need compelling reasons to choose one brand over the rest, especially when they're spending fewer dollars. Unless they're die-hard loyalists for a particular brand, the product has a few seconds to live - or die - that's how important it is to get the messaging and key packaging elements right.
Here's what matters:
- Use one simple, overriding message that really resonates
- Develop key product points that are direct and simple to assimilate
- Uncover core messaging the consumer immediately responds to on an intellectual and emotional level.
- Strive for an ownable, unique package structure, color, and/or strong graphic cue as differentiators.
- Develop a well-planned package design system; one-off package designs lead to a lack of brand cohesiveness.
- Effective product segmentation makes the product line more convenient to "shop"; conveying value to consumers; making purchase far more likely.
All these strategies lead to increased consumer visibility and brand recognition.
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We hope to see you in Lincoln, Tulsa, or Baton Rouge in the next few weeks. Please contact us for a list of Workshops in 2010.
Remember, Reach enough people, reach them Frequently, and do this on a Consistent basis, and your business will grow in 2010.
Sincerely,
Larry Kirby
Effective Advertising Workshops
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