ANA Marketing Maestros

The Top Ten CMO List

By Will Waugh

When speaking with senior marketers of the ANA, I have been asked about blogs and their impact. Many have commented that they are "nice" and something they are interested in. Many times, I have been asked to send a list of blogs that would be relevant to what's important to them. Instead of culling down so many brilliant marketing blogs out there, I found some posts/blogs that focus directly on the CMO and the way they do business:

1. First, the person who speaks with more CMOs than anybody, our chief Bob Liodice. Here is a recent post where he predicts what he expects for CMOs in 2007.
2. Peter Kim of Forrester is doing an ongoing study of marketing organizations. His most recent post here on being a CMO.
3. Note to CMO by Stephen Denny
4. Marketing and media in the age of great cynicism from the former CMO magazine editor.
5. Brand Autopsy, particularly the post on the 20 Common Mistakes of Eager Leaders
6. Tom Peters blog on strategy
7. Guy Kawasaki offers practical knowledge for business people, here is a post with a great list of marketing podcasts
8. MarketingProfs Daily Fix has a ton of good stuff for all marketers, here is a great post on Setting Expectations for Marketing.
9. Of course, my good man Eric Kintz who is a senior marketer talking about the issues that affect them, here on social media and organic search.
10. Church of the Customer blog talks about what many CMOs continue to struggle with, word of mouth, customer insights and the world that is social media.

Technorati tags: chief marketing officer blogs marketing

What's the Big Deal About the Super Bowl?

By Kaitlin Villanova

Who would have known that the same sports event with 30,000 empty seats in 1967 would eventually become the most watched, most anticipated, most expensive event in the world of television advertising? Today, with more than 750 million viewers around the world, advertisers pay upwards of $2 million for a 30-second spot.

According to TNS Media Intelligence, over the past 20 years Super Bowl advertising totaled 682 minutes, that’s over 11 hours of commercial time. During those 11 hours, over 200 different advertisers bought more than 1,400 spots and spent $1.72 billion in network advertising sales.

The hottest commercial this year? It may be for Bud Light, starring Jay-Z and former Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula. Watch as the two men engage in a chess-like high tech football game that uses holographic imagery. The Bud spot is part of Jay-Z's new partnership with St. Louis-based brewer Anheuser-Busch as co-brand director for Budweiser Select.

My favorite from last year (and Will and Barbara’s as well) is the FedEx Caveman commercial still available on YouTube.

The newest ANA title The Super Bowl of Advertising: Are the Advertisers Still Winning the Game? by Bernice Kanner (who recently passed unexpectedly) takes you through a number of case studies from dozens of advertisers over the years. It includes an ROI analysis of Super Bowl advertising effectiveness, and a historical perspective of the evolution of successful marketing campaigns.

Go Bears!

The HDTV Experience - Customer Service Not Marketing

By Barbara Bacci Mirque

I found this Media Post article most informative. However, CTAM missed one important point-it is not just marketing that has to improve. What we faced in our HD journey was another key facet to the marketing experience and that is poor customer service from our cable company. Yes, better marketing is needed but so is training for the most important touchpoint these cable companies have-their consumer facing customer service reps.

In our case we knew we needed an HD cable box and HD service and requested the upgrades. We had to go to our cable provider customer service center to pick up the HD box and switch services. The customer service rep told us we did not need digital service to access HD, and since we don't watch that much TV and had no need for 300 channels, we were pleased to learn that. But, when we got home and started setting up the box we realized that although we requested an HD box, she had given us a non-HD box. So we had to go back. Then it took a few more painful days to get the HD box hooked up and working. Finally, we could watch television on HD. But then we too were in the camp of wondering what is alll the hype about HD TV?! The picture quality on our beautiful new flat screen TV was no better than before. After a day or two it dawned on us to check our service and perhaps we did need digital service after all-Bingo! Finally we had that crysal clear image. But it was a slow process dealing with poorly trained, surly customer service reps, and has not left us fans of our cable provider. My husband- the voice of the customer- he is not a marketer - recommends that when customers come into the service centers to obtain HD boxes that instead of making them wait in line as we did, the cable provider should have a separate area for HD upgrades and take them through all the steps to eliminate the pain points. CTAM, he is available for consultations!

Technorati tags: HDTV marketing

The Great Intellectual Property Debate

By Will Waugh

"We can't control it, we must try to direct."

I have had the privilege of spending the last two days with advertising lawyers and business affairs types at our Advertising Law and Business Affairs Conference. The above quote was provided by a panelist during a discussion on the future of intellectual property and individual rights. As we all know, ads are getting mocked, morphed and commercialized without advertiser consent. More times than none, talent and musicians are also getting infringed. Two of the brands represented, Elizabeth Arden (with their Britney Spears' fragrances) and Limited Brands (with Victoria Secret) have been subjected to numerous consumer-generated interpretations.

Some of their advice in facing this new reality:

• You must have a policing policy in place, but you can only protect so much.
• Make sure it's not your people doing it (whether in-house or agency).
• Look at what the cost/benefit analysis is.
• The dilemma is that alot of brands needs to be in this space so what is the balance between protecting and engaging.

One also referenced the Monday New York Times article "Hollywood Asks YouTube: Friend or Foe" highlighting what they felt was the most telling statement, as quoted by Universal chair Mark Shmuger - "I think that the marketing side of our company and the copyright-protection side have contradictory impulses."

In researching this post, I found an interesting article on the use or non-use of the word 'intellectual property' on a site called P2P Foundation -- a site with a lengthy mission, it's first component being - "that technology reflects a change of consciousness towards participation, and in turn strengthens it."

Technorati tags: intellectual property youtube viral video marketers

Marketing Accountability Reinvention

By Barbara Bacci Mirque

Our recent Masters of Marketing Annual Conference was all about marketing reinvention and we expect that need to continue into 2007 and beyond. As marketers grapple with accelerated rates of change, staying with programs because they “have always worked in the past and if it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” is no longer going to cut it. In order to reinvent, you have to challenge what has always worked and keep challenging it. But be advised, change is never easy. At a meeting of his I attended, marketing pundit Rex Briggs of Marketing Evolution said that one way to innovate is to “build a little, sell a little, learn a lot… If a challenger looks good, work on it, pilot test it and measure it.” When you have the facts, it will be difficult for the naysayers to bring you down. If you are an ANA member, join our new marketing accountability committee to learn how your colleagues are dealing with this and other issues. For the rest of you, join us at the ANA Marketing Accountability Forum in Palm Beach, Florida, from September 9-11, 2007. Check our website for details in the coming months.

Technorati tags: marketing accountability ROI

Google's YouTube Play

By Will Waugh

Google hosted the ANA's TV Advertising and New Technologies committees late last week at their swanky new West side headquarters. They took the time to talk to the 50 or so assorted advertisers about the multiple uses of video on the web particularly through YouTube and Google Video. Here are the pros and cons as seen by the advertisers:

Pros

• Advertisers will be able to run video ads through Adwords across their network. You Tube will expand the reach.
• YouTube's sacred real estate, where people watch the videos, will remain untouched (for now).
• Syndication of content (content in this case being advertising people like to watch) and the push down the long tail.

Cons

• Measurement of video is still not up to snuff. Google made it big on accountable marketing, video needs to be able to follow suit.
• Not a direct response medium

It was an interesting discussion among marketers. The most common talking point was how much Google paid for YouTube and how they are never going to get their money's worth. While researching Google bloggers, I realized that not too many of them had much to say about the YouTube acquisition. I did however discover the enlightening blog Technical Revenue with the tagline 'Entrepreneur trapped in an engineer's body.'

My favorite story with video is the Dove Real Beauty commercial, part of the brand's campaign promoting the Dove Self Esteem fund, that apparently got better results from the online viral component than the version aired on the Super Bowl.

Technorati tags: google youtube viral video marketers

The NFL's Marketing Champion

Great article from Tim Manners at Reveries featuring a Q&A with ANA Board member Lisa Baird, the NFL's SVP of consumer products and marketing. Lisa was also a judge for the big buzz "Pitch Us Your Idea for the best Super Bowl Commercial Ever. Seriously." Contest, won by marketing professional Gino Bona (seen here pitching the winning concept).

Technorati tags: super bowl advertising

Marketers: Prepare for Collaborative Marketing

By Kaitlin Villanova

Thanks to Steve Jobs (Wikipedia) and his team of silent geniuses, we are upon the next big revolution in technology. In his keynote speech on Tuesday, Jobs exposed the meaning behind the teaser on the Apple site claiming "the first 30 years were just the beginning. Welcome to 2007".

Among other things, the most exciting new product that was revealed at this meeting was the iPhone. Jobs describes the products as "an iPod, a phone, an internet mobile communicator" not three separate devices. This product operated by the command of the best pointing device in the world -- our fingers. They have invented and patented the new technology called multi-touch. First the mouse, then the click wheel, and now the multi- touch.

The phone comes complete with: a 2 megapixel camera, a headset jack, SIM tray, and a sleep-wake switch, a speaker, and mic input. Internally there are 3 advanced sensors:

1. A proximity sensor: bring the iPhone to your ear and your display shuts off and touch screen shuts down.

2. Ambient light sensor: adjusts brightness, saves power.

3. Accelerometer: can tell whether you're in landscape and portrait.

As a marketer, the genius is not just the phone, but the collaborations with the new product. Apple’s iPhone is associated with Google (Google CEO Eric Schmidt joked this paring was called applegoo), Yahoo!, Cingular, and of course it’s very own Apple products and programs, Itunes, Safari and Mac OSX.

So what does all this mean for the marketing community?

In 2001, with the apple iPod, competitors and marketers alike were forced to kick in to high gear to support this revolutionary merging of high technology and music.

With this new mobile communications strategy reeking of "Jobsian" refinements, that fulfills the consumers demand for control marketers are faced with one question: how do I get in on it?

Digg is flooding with information and predictions on how this Cupertino CA based company will cause a shift in the next collaborative marketing. Apple’s answer is simple; in the words of the great one "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it’s been."

Technorati tags: marketing digg apple steve jobs iphone

Private Equity to Save Marketing?

By Will Waugh

Normally I don't comment on AdAge articles, but the article this morning titled 'How private equity is reshaping marketing' (sub req'd) struck a cord. Why? Some of the key points:

• Accountability - This has been the #1 issue for marketers for three years running now. This quote by 2x Management's Andy Whitman says it all: "The fact that private-equity marketing executives are compensated based mainly on profit and enterprise value also helps solve marketing's return-on-investment problem."
• Marketing Talent - Another challenge for our CMOs and senior marketers. Our Annual Conference keynote, AG Lafley, said that private equity is his largest competitor for talent. Marketing recruiter Barbara Pickens said, "Five years ago it was almost never part of the conversation." Innovation and accountability are the two most valuable traits of today's marketer (in a nutshell). Perhaps by seeing the talent drain to industries like private equity, brands and companies will hold a higher value on their marketing brain trust.
• Agency Compensation - This one is close to us as our 14th triennial agency compensation survey results come out in May. In the face of a changing marketing model, private equity is buying up specialized shops, adjusting them for this new world and offering them to the highest bidder. Advertiser's issues with agency overhead, agency executive compensation and the like become moot points because these shops are reorganized for efficiency. Value based deals (which we are seeing more and more of) hold long term value to private equity firms because they are not one-off deals.

Technorati tags: private equity marketing accountability talent

Define Your Marketing Organization

By Michael Palmer

With a New Year upon us, what can we do as marketers to make 2007 a better year? Restore and rebuild our credibility.

Sadly marketing and marketers seem themselves as marketing communications professionals. A MarketingProf survey asked marketers what their primary job was – 90%, that’s right 90%, said marketing communications. If marketers continue to think of themselves as communicators and not strategists, the rest of the world is then going to think the same. And the problem with being a marketing communications professional is?

1. You will not be in charge of your own destiny: some one else, either the sales department or your CFO will determine what your budget is not you.
2. You will be looked at as a tactician, not a strategist: marketing should not be about logos, advertising or brand promotions; it should be all about driving revenues and profits.
3. You will constantly be fighting for resources: sales, R&D and production will out trump when money is allocated because you will be thought of as a support department, not the engine of growth.

Start the year off by first defining the role of marketing in your organization – find out via an audit if need be what your constituents think marketing brings to the table. Do they look at the marketing department as marketing services, or the driver of growth? Once you know that, you can start determining how your going to change and grow the credibility of marketing in your organization. AND if you need help, ask us. ANA has spent the last three years building a model to help marketers "Rejuvenate the Power of Marketing" and we would be delighted to share our insights with you.

Happy New Year.

Technorati tags: marketing organization strategy