ANA Marketing Maestros

To Twitter or not to Twitter, that is the question…

By Barry Garbarino 

As a former employee of AOL and a few other hi-tech companies, I have always felt the need to be on top of whatever new technology that comes my way.  It could be said that I wanted to be an early adopter from an early age (well, as early as I could get, considering that I typed my last senior high school English paper on an IBM Selectric typewriter, but I digress.)  Social media and user generated content seems to be all the rage now.  I will fully admit that I do the occasional status update on Facebook and give a peak (to my friends) on what is happening in my life at that point in time.  From time to time I will also post the lyrics to certain songs (or YouTube videos) that I know will get stuck in people’s heads – it’s a public service that a few of us started a few years back and believe me, there are some whoppers that will take weeks to get out of your head.

For example the following was posted some time back on my Facebook page.  See if it gets stuck in your head (you got to love digital technology!)

That brings me to Twitter.  Some people absolutely love it and others have no idea why people would want to share all this information.  Many companies are jumping on the Twitter band wagon and are utilizing this tool to inform, entertain and connect to their consumers.  Consumers are utilizing Twitter to stay informed and to connect with a larger audience then they may have on other social media sites like Facebook and MySpace.

I came across the following videos on YouTube and thought that anyone who has an opinion about Twitter would get a kick out of them.  Let us know what you think!

Geiko's Gecko Gets Jiggy With It

By Irina Skaya

Having been around for almost ten years and gracing the screen with funny television commercials and 30-minute vignettes on National Geographic’s Dangerous Encounters with Brady Barr" and "Wild," Geico’s Gecko has become the most popular ad icon since Taco Bell’s Chihuahua brand mascot. In 2005 it was named the top advertising icon during Yahoo’s Advertising Week in New York. This week, Geico launched a new marketing campaign that combines viral video stars such as the “Numa Numa” guy, Gary Brolsma with the green lizard.

The campaign is expected to release nine parodies of popular videos by April 9, three of which have already been created. The campaign created by The Martin Agency and promoted by Geico’s media agency, Horizon Media, is a new way to engage the viewers without bombarding them with direct response messaging.  The parodies are featured on various video-sharing Web sites such as YouTube, Metacafe and Slide, next to the amateur-produced superstar originals. The views of the online videos are already racking up traffic numbers, but only time will tell whether or not these videos will generate leads and drive sales.  

Check out the parody of the “Numa Numa” video (that has generated over 18 million hits since 2004) with the dancing Gecko (my favorite of the three-I think I am addicted!):

You can watch the Numa Numa Kid's original lip-synch performance to the Romanian "“Dragostea din tei”" pop song here.

Here is another parody video that depicts a girl who photographs herself everyday for three years:

Watch the original here.

Keep up with all nine parodies at http://www.youtube.com/user/itsthegecko. I certainly will!

How to Beat the Innovation Failure Odds

By Michael Palmer

A good innovation exercise begins with diagnostics. That means assembling the right combination of customer needs (preferably the unmet kind) with competitive insights, those actions being taken by other players in your industry; plus an understanding of your company's own capabilities, all integrated with clear step-by-step protocols.

So to be successful you have to understand your customer, your competition, and your own capabilities then have a process for changing that information into real action.  Marketers have gotten better at collecting insights (they still are not so good at codifying and disseminating those insights internally however) and understanding the competitive landscape.  However, we still need help uncovering our organization’s DNA and building a protocol for initiating innovation. 

The absence of good innovation protocols means that innovation teams often make up both what they will address and how they will address it—a prescription for failure.  As Jim Collins outlined in Good to Great, defining an organization’s purpose, its reason for being or purpose, is critical to deciding what it can be best in.  Coupling that known internal insight with tried and true best practices (knowing what works) will help you create an innovation routine that can double or triple your success rate versus suffer the current high failure rate (98%) most marketers experience currently.

Wish to learn how to become a more successful innovation organization?  Tap in ANA School of Marketing and download our most recent Innovation Webinar; ask us to bring you a ½ day innovation workshop (complimentary for ANA member companies), or have us build you an innovation seminar.  How we can help?  Visit us online.

Happy Valentine's Day: How to Steal Your Customer's Heart Away

By: Irina Skaya

According to Jonathan Kranz of Kranz Communications, every sale is a kind of seduction where marketers make introductions, pursue relationships and hope for the perfect “happily ever after” ending —the sale. He said, “As in any love affair, we know that reason plays a subordinate role to emotion. To win a portion of our prospects’ bank account, we must win their hearts first.” 

Customer relations were always important, but in these days, it is especially important to go that ‘extra mile’ to satisfy and exceed the expectations of your customers. Companies that succeed are those that develop meaningful relationships with consumers. How do you win the hearts of consumers?

• Make them feel special: Consumers are tired of being talked to. Like at the initiation of any pursuit, you, the marketer must engage the consumer by having an open conversation with them and showing empathy with their consumers, not selling them your services.
• Them, not me: A first date really gone badly is probably one where the other person continuously talks about him/herself and asks zero questions about you. It’s the same kind of thing.  President and “2008 Marketer of the Year,” Barack Obama led a successful, “We, not me” marketing campaign.
• Make a commitment: Take a risk and make a guarantee. Especially in these tough economic times, you must give existing consumers another reason to continue using your product and new consumers to try it. You have to give them a certain level of security; by offering them, “Your money back, no questions asked,” you’re developing trust between you and the customer.

In the days of social media, dissatisfied customers spread the bad news fast and can negatively impact your business. That’s why it’s especially important now more than ever to always put your customers first and continue to exceed their expectations through satisfaction and engagement.

BIG Ideas in a Shrinking Economy

By: Irina Skaya

Having BIG ideas and being creative is crucial more than ever in today's tough economic climate. Being innovative will make your company stand out from the competition. Everyone gathers around the water cooler to talk about creative ads no one talks about dull ads. Even in a recession, customers will spend money on things they like and enjoy. This means that marketers must work even harder to produce creative ads in order to engage consumers emotionally and want their products more.  Here are a few of my favorite creative ads from around the world to inspire you to think outside the box. If you d like to share ads that inspire you, feel free to comment on my blog and respond with a link.

Who said car ads can't be creative?

Subaru Forester 2009 commercial

Below is an example of bagvertising at it's finest: YKM, a Turkish department store chain.

Below is a bus stop ad in Australia advertising customized stamps.

Below is the "Express Yourself Ad" from Samsung

If you want to view more winning, creative ads, visit: http://adsoftheworld.com/blog.

Inauguration in the Age of Social Media

By: Irina Skaya

January 20, 2009

7:00 a.m. - Woke up and turned the television on to watch continued inauguration coverage by Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson.

8:00 a.m. - Picked up the NY Daily News newspaper to read the schedule of upcoming inaugural activities.

9:00 a.m. - Logged on to www.abc.com/news to watch live coverage of Barack Obama's swearing-in as the 44th President of the United States.

9:15 a.m. - Updated my Facebook status to share my enthusiasm with friends.

My day was not atypical. For decades, people have passively set in front of their television sets to watch historic events like the inaugural celebrations or the Watergate hearings. The historic inauguration of Barack Obama, the 44^th President of the United States and the first social media President, flocked viewers to the online live nation-wide celebration coverage and social networks such as Facebook and Twitter where users actively updated their “statuses,” and microblogged to share their reactions with the rest of the world.

When I logged-on to the Facebook Web site to update my own “status,” I was pleasantly surprised at the exorbitant number of status updates I’ve received from friends—and how much more enhanced the experience became for me. Some of my friends were reporting live from the event, uploading photos almost instantly via the use of their mobile devices. Others who celebrated the historic moment elsewhere also uploaded our own photos and videos to the social network. I, myself, have uploaded a couple of photos and video (to Facebook and Barack Obama’s online photo album) from Times Square where a small group of ANA co-workers and I witnessed the inauguration of the first African-American president. In minutes, I edited the video using the editing software that came with the flipcamera and posted it to the Web. In a way, we were all reporters for the day with the help of mobile devices and pocket-size camcorders. It felt great to be able to actively participate in the inauguration (the non-traditional way) and share my impressions with friends in real-time.

Even for those of us who weren’t in Washington, we still felt the camaraderie and unity within the social community. I am looking forward to the new administration and to further explore the power of the social media.

How Great Marketing Led Barack Obama to the White House

By: Irina Skaya

Today, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44^th president of the United States. Successful Internet marketing is the cornerstone of the 2009 historic inauguration. How did Obama connect with today’s diverse general market? How do we as marketers engage, inspire and motivate today’s consumers?

History was made when Barack Obama was elected President, but his win is beyond historic – his superb use of online marketing to promote awareness and create a loyal following has earned him AdAge’s Marketer of the Year award at the ANA Annual Masters of Marketing Conference. It also became be the template which all future presidential campaigns will draw inspiration from.  

Thomas Jefferson was the first President to use newspapers to promote his presidential campaign, Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first to use radio, John F. Kenny used television. Barack Obama is the first president to have the power to leverage Social Media in such a way as never seen before by our Presidency or Government as a whole.  

The secret behind any successful marketing campaign is to put yourselves in the shoes of the consumers. Sure, his multiracial and multicultural background represents today’s generation, but Obama has also appointed the best marketing staff that represents and knows its target market inside and out. That’s why his campaign has embraced social media. Youth vote had a major role to play in the landslide victory, and the role of the internet - the living space of the youth. His inspirational message of “change has come to America" has remained consistent throughout the presidential campaign. This message became even more important in the economic downturn.

On February 12^th, Jim Margolis, Senior Advisor to the Barack Obama presidential campaign will discuss the power of social media and share lessons from Obama's campaign at the TV & Everything Video Forum.

TV widgets...upcoming trend of 2009?

By: Irina Skaya

Apparently, widgets are taking on a new life--they are now coming to a TV near you! And who is behind this revolutionary thinking? Yahoo! in partnership with Samsung, Sony, LG Electronics and VIZIO announced their launch of an internet widget-based function for the TV, this week at the CES conference. The idea behind this Widget Channel is to develop mini-applications that can complement TV viewing with information from the Internet, providing viewers with relevant and targeted information while enhancing their television watching experience. Widget Engine combines key attributes of the Internet, including openness, community, and personalization, with the power of television.

This is great for advertisers because the widget could allow users to purchase products advertised on TV from online store. There are several applications planned such as MySpace, Twitter, Flickr, eBay, CBS, Netflix, Blockbuster, New York Times and various Yahoo! widgets.

We all know that despite the rise of the Web, TV is not going anywhere. People still spend more time watching television than they do on the Internet. TV widgets is a great way to converge the two. For instance, MySpace users will be able to access the widget using a remote and type message to their friends using an on-screen keyboard. Flickr users will be able to share photos with family and friends or watch a slideshow on their TV screen. Many of the widgets are still in the development process, but you can preview them here.

Yahoo's is "Purpling it Up" It's Marketing Efforts

By: Irina Skaya

Marketing buzz is difficult to achieve, and not all products can be the next Harry Potter, or the Volkswagen New Beetle. Yahoo! is redefining the meaning of purple with its new viral marketing campaign, “Start Wearing Purple.” Contrary to the popular belief that purple symbolizes royalty, Yahoo! attributes the color to innovation and imagination.

Startwearingpurple.com includes features such as "Celebrate Purple", "Purple Pranks", "Pioneers of Purple" and "Purple Picks.” “Pioneers of Purple” showcases mini-documentaries of influential personalities who epitomize individuality and innovative spirit of purple, a color that's been core to Yahoo!'s DNA since it began.

From purple bikes with built-in solar power cameras and funny videos to purple sneakers and Ts, the web portal is engaging and has the potential to create buzz, but will this brand awareness campaign drive Internet users from its competitors to the soon-to-be launched new Yahoo! site?

Check out how Yahoo! is 'purpling it up' through their Purple Pedals project.

"Green Living" - Hype or Here to Stay?

By: Irina Skaya

I haven’t written a blog in a little over a month now-hopefully, the American idiom, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” will apply here.

Let’s talk “green”--from battery-electric vehicles to solar wing for ferries or yachts, consumers want to use their buying power to help heal the earth.  In the last couple of years, “green” messaging has inundated the marketplace—from subway ads promoting environmental change to “Green is gorgeous” totes—green marketing is everywhere!  The question now becomes, “How much “green” is too “green”?” Green living is starting to look more like a fashion statement than a genuine, beneficial effort to support environmental issues. Despite the current good intentions of the business community and consumers to promote “green”, serious eco-results will depend on making products and processes more sustainable without consumers even noticing it, and, if necessary, not leaving much room for consumers and companies to opt for less sustainable alternatives.

How can marketers ensure their companies stay authentic in the public realm?  Below are several ways to avoid "greenwashing" and establish credibility: 

• Don't go "Green" for "Green's" sake-ensure the product addresses the customers' need first.
• Partner with regulators, elected officials, environmental agencies, and nonprofits. Support from these organizations will enhance your company's “green” efforts.
• Work together with these partners on marketing/communications efforts, learning from their wealth of experience and established networks.
• Place a heavier emphasis on earned media and cause-related approaches, which carry more validity than advertising and other paid media approaches.

So, while it’s great to create products that scream “eco-friendly” because customers want  to express their concern publicly, it’s important to remember to focus on customers’ needs first. Thus, it’s not enough to position a hybrid car as simply cool, it also must convince its owner that the vehicle will save him/her gas money. The green market is a great opportunity to engage with your target consumers because consumers today are not only interested in the eco-friendly products but are in it for the social cause. Join the hype.

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