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Ad Dads Aren't As Stupid Anymore.

6/21/2015

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Picture= image © by Brian E. Faulkner -
An article by Michelle Castillo on CNBC.com just prior to Father’s Day claimed that Millennial moms are no longer the sole CEOs of the home and that dads are leaning in to take on more household responsibility (as if such a thing had never happened before!).   Well … maybe now we’ll finally see the end of the “Dumb Husband” TV ads that have plagued our living rooms for such a long time.  You know the ones, where the mom shows up the helpless dad by fixing a faucet, replacing the sink trap without mishap or repairing a light switch -- with ease -- while he bumbles helplessly in the background.

Back in the mid ‘50s, a decade after Rosie the Riveter had retreated back to the home, women were stereotyped as Susie Homemaker.  If the advertising image was to be believed, women did the household chores – including the greatest bulk of child care – while dad did the paying work and his wife dutifully waited for him to come home, in her A-line skirt, peasant blouse and red lipstick.  

My maternal grandmother, who was in her 60s back then, was employed as a department store manager and, most assuredly, did not wear A-line skirts.  She was a working woman and far removed from the sweet, stereotypical granny who smothers her grandchildren with kisses; truth is, she was a tough old Yankee bird very much set in her ways.  This made for tense relations with my Irish-tempered mother, who lived with us in her mother’s house.  But Mom was great.  She stuck up for us whenever it was needed (with Grandma, sometimes to Dad and occasionally to the neighbors) but also nailed us firmly to the door of truth when that was required.  Of course, that meant we couldn’t get away with much, whether within her eyesight or not.  There was another side to that coin, however:  Mom was always there to tend both our physical and emotional wounds.  She was an RN before children came along and didn’t go back to it until we all flew the nest, sometime in the ‘70s.

Now lest you think this Father’s Day reflection is solely about the women of my family, Dad played a looming part in our lives.   He was smart and resourceful – but also demanding – and would tackle just about any kind of chore with vigor, from yard work to repairing the car and rebuilding our decrepit old washing machine several times over.  Which made him totally unlike TV’s inept husband. 

We kids (four brothers spread over ten years) were expected to follow his lead and do some of everything, and it wouldn’t have made any difference had some of us been sisters.  We mowed and clipped the lawn, put out the trash, raked leaves, shoveled snow, weeded the garden and hauled heavy wooden storm windows up two flights of stair to the attic in the spring and back down again in the fall.  We also did the suppertime dishes and couldn’t leave the house until the task was complete.  We dusted furniture, helped with spring cleaning, ran the jet-shaped vacuum cleaner (hateful thing), cleaned our rooms on weekends and made our beds every morning.   We were expected to chip in – without whining.   Dad managed the outside chores, Mom the inside ones.  That’s just how it was in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

My own kids (three daughters, one son) did some work around the house, but not as much demand was put on them as my folks put on me.  Even so, they have grown into successful (even admirable) adults.  Each is diligent and hard-working and appears to have little brook with gender stereotyping, which really is just another form of intellectual dishonesty . 

I doubt that my grandmother ever thought for a moment that she couldn’t do whatever it was she had in mind.  Women of her era worked as teachers, in retail, entertainment, medicine and other professional fields, and it may be that since society didn’t expect much of them outside the home in those days, they expected that much more of themselves.   It just took a while for the times to catch up to the reality (and plain common sense) of considering women as equals in the workplace, although I think their acceptance got retarded to some extent by shrill Feminist voices.   And clearly, the stereotype that a woman’s place is only in the home has yet to vanish entirely. 

It also helped that a second income eventually became critical to family financial success and women began thinking of themselves less as cookie-cutter people and more as individuals, including homemakers.   But then, I think sometime in the ‘80s, TV advertising began depicting men in stereotypical ways just as they had women twenty and thirty years earlier.   To progressive-thinking ad copywriters (men and women), it must have seemed as if justice finally was being served -- and it was up to them to serve it!   The result, therefore, was occasional slice-of-life advertising that presented a softer, more sensitive male persona.  And sometimes an incompetent one.  

When I think of the stereotypical Dumb Husband, I recall a one-time neighbor of ours who pleaded ignorance about anything that remotely resembled a chore; mowing, raking, shoveling, checking the oil on the car, repairing small appliances or fixing that light switch -- all were anathema to him.   His wife did most everything, and rather well, while he bragged to us about how good he was at business (and basketball).  He was an exception who just happened to match an emerging male stereotype.

As brands now seek to engage their diverse customers more authentically, it’s good to see most of the old stereotypes going by the boards – at least in television ads. 

"As we think about bringing new users to (our products), the way you think about our communication and their behavior is a bit different,” said Jennifer Brown, director of marketing for Unilever (Dove, Hellman’s, Lipton, etc.), quoted in the CNBC.com article.  We're sort of adjusting how we reach clients because of that."

And that’s not limited to gender stereotypes.  The current task of creative copywriters appears dedicated to bringing racial balance to advertising.  As a result, there are more black and brown faces in TV spots (and programming) than ever.  In fact, there now seem to be a greater abundance of these faces than otherwise might have been the case had the advertising industry not fallen so thoroughly into racial stereotyping in its early days and had to make up for lost ground.   Bringing racial balance to advertising is long overdue, from a societal and business sense as well as an expression of intellectual honesty.   To do otherwise is both short-sighted and stupid – as long as marketers don’t overcorrect and create frustrating new stereotypes.

Like the Dumb Husband.  

TakeAway:  Advertise your products and service to real people, because it’s real people who buy them, not some thoughtless stereotype.

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner


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Pricing Prestidigitation: One Nissan, Two Prices.

6/5/2015

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Picture- Nissan image -
Tags:  Nissan Rogue, Rogue Select, Infiniti G37, Q40, Q50, Acura Integra
I thought what I was reading was possibly ... bogus.  If it had been April 3rd instead of June 3rd, I’d have been pretty certain somebody was attempting to snooker me.  The article was published on Jalopnik.com, a site for fans of high-performance automobiles with occasional pieces about mainstream auto marketing, fast fighter planes, dumb drivers and generally hoonish fun with cars.

Since the article’s author, Doug DeMuro, has been known to add a dash of silliness to his writing (he's a former manager with Porsche Cars North America), I thought it likely that his claim of Nissan selling two versions of its popular Rogue SUV at the same time might have been written with a sly wink.

DeMuro cited a press briefing in Nashville some two years ago during which a Nissan exec casually mentioned that “Oh by the way, we’re not cancelling the old Rogue. We’re just going to keep it around and sell it to people on a tighter budget.”

He’d never heard of anything like that.  Nor had I, which is why his Jalopnik article at first seemed like a put-on.

So I called an old friend at the local Nissan store, who confirmed that it was indeed true that Nissan had two different Rogues for sale.   I checked out the dealer’s web site to see this new car novelty for myself.  And there they were, the current Rouge and the previous model (now called Rogue Select) offered side by side.  And both were selling quite briskly, thank you!   In fact, Rogue was the 14th best-selling vehicle in the country during May (presumably both models together).

DeMuro further piqued my curiosity by mentioning a similar marketing strategy over at Nissan’s high-line Infiniti brand.  Sure enough, the strong selling, long running G37 four-door has been renamed the Q40 and is being offered for less money (with attractive lease terms) alongside its eventual replacement, the Q50, a kissin’-cousin of a car  outfitted with more advanced cabin style and electronics as well as a small increase in horsepower .

During our conversation, my friend and I swapped stories about times when arrival of the new models used to be a big deal.  My dad worked at a Dodge-Plymouth dealership, and we got to see the new cars before the public did, which was a great coup for us kids.  Nowadays, however, the new models arrive largely without fanfare – so much so, apparently, that Nissan has slipped two new cars into the marketplace while keeping the old model around for a while and giving it a nameplate switcheroo – with a similar strategy at Infiniti.

There have been other examples of car companies selling last year’s model after the new ones have been launched.  The 2013 Chevy Impala remains available to fleet buyers through this year, apparently to keep Chevrolet’s sales to rental car companies cranked without diminishing appeal (or resale value) of the much improved 2014-15 Impala.

I can see the sense in what Chevy is doing, but I truly must admire Nissan’s play!   Not only does the company save money, because much of the Rogue Select tooling has long been paid for, but car buyers get more choice.   People who don’t want to pay something like $3,000 more for the “regular” Rogue – and would prefer not to buy used – now have another option.  

Will this less-is-more strategy migrate to other car brands?   I hope so, because it makes good marketing sense from the perspective of both buyer and seller. 

Perhaps some day in the not too distant future we’ll be able to purchase not only last year’s car brand new but also models from two or three iterations back – improved in performance and safety but looking essentially the same.  DeMuro suggests bringing back an Acura favorite, the Integra coupe, discontinued in 2006.   My son certainly would agree after driving one quite enthusiastically until a new baby in the family dictated not only their move to a roomier (and considerably older and safer) four-door Mercedes. 

Should the marketing savvy Nissan is exhibiting today spread to other auto brands, perhaps not too far down the road we’ll find ourselves having taken a much-needed stop toward eliminating planned obsolescence altogether.

-O-

TakeAway: What's old can also be new in today's marketing world. 

(To see a “new” old Mustang, see my post, Experience Mustang -- All Over Again:  http://www.brianefaulkner.com/blog/experience-mustang-all-over-again

 Content © by Brian E. Faulkner


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VINYL RECORDS: Marketing A Memory.

5/27/2015

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Picture- Image © by Brian E. Faulkner -
I hear that vinyl is back.  No, not vinyl floors or tacky vinyl car tops: vinyl records -- the grooved discs that music used to come on before cassette tapes and CDs and online streaming.  The kind I grew up listening to.  If you’re of the Baby Boom generation, you likely will recall hoarding your pocket change to buy the latest Elvis or Little Richard or Everly Brothers record. 

Three kinds of buyers appear responsible for the rise in vinyl record sales these days: 
  • purists, people who love the more open, warm sound vinyl reproduction provides;
  • young people, for whom vinyl records are a new, more tactile way to listen to indie bands while discovering the music of previous generations (my 29-year-old daughter has been rummaging around for vinyl albums since she was a teenager);
  • and older folks, for whom vinyl not only is a trip down memory lane but an opportunity to reacquaint themselves with all the music waiting in those old boxes of LPs in the basement.

So it’s no surprise that sales of classic artists like The Beatles and Bob Dylan have been selling well on vinyl – helping drive category sales up 15% during the first three months of 2015, while accounting for only about 2% of total album sales.  Top sellers for 2014 were a mix of classic and new artists: Jack White (who has set some vinyl sales records), Arctic Monkeys, Beck, The Beatles’ Abbey Road, Bob Marley’s Legend compilation album from 1984 and a notable young singer/songwriter from New Zealand who calls herself Lorde – among others.

The times they are a-changin’ warbled Dylan back in 1964, and sometimes the times catch us by surprise, especially when a format like LP or 45 rpm records re-emerge from yesteryear to delight us with their new-found authenticity.

You’d think this resurgence of “old as new” products is mostly about nostalgia, a word from Greek that essentially means an ache for home, and you’d mostly be right.  During times of geopolitical turmoil or unsettling societal change, yearning for “the good ol’ days” is common, although we don’t often reach out for nostalgic cues from much further back than our childhoods – which is why toys (and classic cars) from the '50s and '60s can command big Boomer bucks these days.

Heard a bit of conversation on NPR‘s Morning Edition today where a guest was talking about how people are using notebooks or notepads  more often in solo gathering spots like Starbucks.  I recall one person saying that he uses his laptop or tablet for school stuff, not for writing more thoughtful, reflective things like poetry.  If I’m chewing on some ideas, I’d much rather use a notepad than a computer, although writing blog posts come easily on my laptop.  But if I were taking notes in a class, I’d go for pencil and paper every time.  It’s more fluid, more intuitive – at least for me.   Taking notes on a computer requires you to interact with the technology more than you’d do with pen or pencil.

If nostalgia is about recapturing the feeling one had during a simpler, less complex, less technologically saturated and more thoughtful time – personally or as a people, it’s easy to see why vinyl records are enjoying a renaissance.  

And even the old ones sound so good, despite all the crackles and pops that can leap out of the grooves along with the music.  But you don’t mind the noise, do you?   Because they’re your crackles and pops.  You put them there back in the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s when you were just coming up.

Now that’s a memory!   And memories are marketable.

TakeAway:  Your next new product may be something old --  who knows, maybe formal hats will make a comeback!

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner

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A Mercedes by Another Name.

5/22/2015

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Picture- Image © by Brian E. Faulkner -
Tags:  Mercedes-Benz, Steinway & Sons, Daimler Motor Company, Daimler-Benz
While researching the origin of the current Mercedes-Benz tagline, I was reminded how close the car came to being called something else – at least here in America.

Were it not for a promising young man’s extended illness, Mercedes most likely would have been called by a name that had nothing to do with automobiles, a name known around the world by the time Gottlieb Daimler rolled out his high-speed internal combustion-powered automobile in 1886. Carl Benz developed his own car the same year, but the business entities that survived the inventors didn’t come together as Daimler-Benz AG until 1926.

In addition to automobiles, Daimler built engines for boats and industrial applications.   That caught the eye of one William Steinway, of the famed piano family.  He got in touch with Daimler, and on October 6, 1888, the Daimler Motor Company was organized in New York, where Steinway & Sons had already been in business for 35 years.

Steinway was convinced he could sell Daimler’s engines in the United States and acquired the rights to manufacture and market them for use in such things as cream separators, sewing machines, pumps, ventilating fans, printing presses and other applications that required a single-cylinder stationary engine. 

Picture
In 1893, Steinway experienced Daimler’s “motor carriage” for himself and began to envision a motorized America.  So he set about developing his own automobile, one more adapted to American road conditions because he thought Daimler’s car too light for the “rough cobblestone streets we have in this country.”

“The cars which we intend to produce for the American market will be capable of carrying between two and four people and will be driven by engines with between 2½ and 3½ hp,” Steinway told a newspaper reporter in 1895. “Each car will have four different speed settings: 3½, 6, 9, and 14 miles per hour.”

However, this perspicacious man’s dream was not to be.  He died at age 35 in November of the following year after a stubborn period of undiagnosed illness (probably tuberculosis).  By that time he’d invested a frustrating amount of additional capital in the car company to offset continuing losses, so it’s likely he would have pulled out anyway.  After William’s death, Daimler Motor Company’s holdings, including a factory built on Steinway’s land, was sold to newly organized Daimler Manufacturing Company, which in 1905 produced an “American Mercedes” based on the German model. This car was on the market for only eight years before its factory was destroyed by fire.  

So had William Steinway lived and helped Daimler Motor Company overcome its ongoing financial problems, the American Mercedes just might have been called a Steinway ... which no doubt would have worked out fine, because both brands exemplify the best in their categories to this day. 

Best is subjective, of course, but Steinway & Sons instruments are the pianos on which the overwhelming number of concert artists choose to perform – or aspire to perform, as they have almost since day one.   William’s father, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg, emigrated to New York from Germany during mid century, founded his business in a Manhattan loft, changed his name to Henry Steinway and set a quality standard that has endured through successive generations.   His maxim was “Build the best piano possible.  Sell it at the lowest price consistent with quality.” 

And although the company has passed through a number of different owners since it was purchased from the Steinway family by CBS in 1972, Steinway & Sons remains at the top of the piano hierarchy and is the brand to which other fine pianos are most often compared.   The company now is owned by American hedge fund manager John Paulson, a long-time admirer of its products.   His stated goal is to assure Steinway & Sons’ "continuing greatness."

Henry and William clearly would have agreed on that.

Mercedes-Benz’ latest tagline also reflects the philosophy of its founder, as well as the quality bedrock on which the brand stands as it moves deeper into the 21st century.  

You may recall the TV spot where Gottlieb Daimler nods off at his desk and dreams about the Mercedes-Benz of the future, with its now-familiar look, technology and style.  As Daimler is awakened by a lovely assistant, we see a handwritten phrase scratched on the notepad beside him: The best or nothing -- underlined with a flourish.   Though Mercedes-Benz has experienced some quality issues in recent years (not unlike Steinway), the brand is still held in high esteem, evidenced by frequent references to the “Mercedes of this” and the “Mercedes of that” as the marketers of other high-end product seek to compare their offerings to the car with the three pointed star.   

“In the end, all any of us has is our good name,” a Mercedes print ad declared a while back.   That’s true of Mercedes-Benz and true of Steinway & Sons.   The two vaulted brands that nearly became kissin’ cousins a hundred-odd years ago have prospered -- and will continue to prosper -- in large part because of the quality foundation put in place by their founders.

TakeAway:  Build your brand on bedrock quality and your reputation will follow, helping smooth the way over the inevitable bumps you encounter on your road to success.

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner


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Airport Choice Revisited:  Convenience & Experience vs. Price. 

5/6/2015

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Picture- Image © by Brian E. Faulkner -
Last summer, I suggested in this space that Piedmont Triad International (PTI: airport code GSO) just might offer the world’s most satisfying airport experience.  (http://tinyurl.com/ktd3wrz)  PTI serves the greater Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point area of North Carolina. This airport is easy to get to, easy to go through and easy to leave when your flight returns.  And while you’re there, it’s a pleasant, uncrowded, unhurried place; parking is plentiful and close by and rental cars can be had right next to the terminal. There’s even an electric car charging station.  And free WiFi.

Given that kind of experience, I’d expect to pay a little more. However, a recent newspaper article 
noted that “Unless they’re on business trips, many travelers from the Piedmont Triad are chasing airline discounts to Charlotte or Raleigh for their vacations and other trips.”

Dunno about you, but if I were planning a vacation – especially with family in tow – I’d opt for the closest, least crowded airport and invest the few extra bucks per ticket in a more relaxed, hassle-free airport experience.   That is, if I can get to my destination from there without changing planes too many times (even though I’ve noticed on occasion that it costs less to fly to my destination through Charlotte from PTI than to drive to Charlotte and depart from there.  Go figure.)

The Journal article focused on the price advantage of the two more distant airports vs. PTI. It reported an average round trip fare of $10.66 less at Charlotte Douglas International Airport vs. PTI’s average fare, and a price difference between Raleigh-Durham International Airport and PTI of $53.02.  Of course, individual ticket prices may swing higher or lower.  The article failed to point out how small the price difference actually is between PTI and the other two airports, especially considering the comfort and convenience of flying from PTI vs. driving to Raleigh-Durham or Charlotte.  Each alternative is about an hour-and-a-half away (vs. half that or less for PTI), and you’d best add at least another hour to that or risk missing your flight -- even more time during commute times. 

There is a way to lower an airport’s average fare, notes PTI Executive Director Kevin Baker in the article: attract more budget airlines.

“We’re always talking to every low-cost carrier out there to try and lure them to come to our airport,” he told Journal reporter Richard M. Barron, although “there’s only so much we can do.”

Maybe so.  But what about talking up the advantages of his airport more effectively?  I, for one, would toss their current tagline (Fly Easy, Fly PTI) in favor of a variant with a bit more strategic muscle:

“It’s EASIER to FLY PTI!”  
This tagline invites prospective flyers to compare PTI with its more distant alternatives in light of the good dose of extra travel time and hassle that people experience in exchange for the few bucks they save on flights at more distant airports.

​Thinking Beyond Price:

It’s all too easy to sell your product or service on price – no matter what it is.  However, there may be other, more strategic product benefits lurking on the sidelines that prospective customers will rise to even more than a lower price.  Let’s say you’re that airline passenger trying to decide whether to fly from the handy airport nearby or commute nearly two hours to a bigger one.   What’s your choice?  Convenience?  Experience?  Or price?

PTI marketing could ask:

Are you prepared to drive all the way to Charlotte to save $10.66 on your next airline ticket?   With our easy-access, close-in parking, short lines and comfy terminal, it’s easier to fly PTI from anywhere in or around the Triad.  
Sure, you’ll spend an average of ten bucks more on your fare, but you’ll enjoy the experience a whole lot more … and get home faster, too.

Would I spend $100 more?  I’d sure think about it, although some would not.  I’d also like to think that there’s enough people like me to make a difference for PTI.   Because for us, an investment in avoiding the inevitability of parking hassles, long lines and general airport uncertainty is an easy choice, whether flying  for business or pleasure. 

 TakeAway:   Sometimes a higher price can be the better deal.

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner


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Subaru Love:  IT'S All About Story.

4/30/2015

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Picture- Image © Brian E. Faulkner -
Tags:  Subaru, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Nikon, Kodak

Do you own a Subaru?  

If so, you probably love it – because a Subaru is versatile, safe, lasts a long time, is great to haul pets around in, performs well, makes a statement about larger community issues and drives you to adventure. 

People write love letters to Subaru:

Dear Subaru,
This morning was cool and although it had not rained, the road was damp from morning dew. I was driving in the left lane of a two lane highway. I came over a crest in the road to find three cars stopped in the right lane …
Somehow, the driver of that Subaru, a 2013 Legacy sedan, not only avoided an almost certainly serious accident – twice – but escaped without a scratch on either him or his car, thanks to the Subaru’s handling. 
My Subie never skidded uncontrollably. It never failed me. I cleared the entire accident scene completely unscathed. I love my Legacy today, not for helping survive an accident but for completely saving me from having one. Thank you Subaru, you've earned my respect, my gratitude and my loyalty.  
Marketers who want customers to maximize the use and enjoyment of their products will do well to take a page from Subaru’s book.   More than any brand of any product category I can think of, Subaru has consistently and successfully painted a compelling picture of customers in their target market – in their advertising and on their Web site.  The idea, of course, is that if you see yourself reflected in product marketing, you’re likely to want to buy that product, which is one reason why Subaru’s conquest sales are so high.

Subaru buyers are relatively young, well-educated and have higher incomes than the average car buyer.  And they are thrifty; according to a 2011 study, 36% of Subaru customers pay cash.   They support causes, too; check out the first Subaru you come to in a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s parking lot.  Its bumpers likely will be festooned with stickers heralding all kinds of political and environmental values. 

Last year, my 30-something daughter and son-in-law, who live in the Pacific Northwest, one of Subaru’s strongest markets, bought a slate gray Subaru Forester.  Their family of three fit the car’s profile to a T, and as you might suspect, they did not choose their Subaru on a whim.  They knew what they wanted and went for it, after riding for years in a blue ’78 Volvo 240 wagon (that my daughter now uses to transport her landscaping tools). 

I think people “tune-in” to Subaru, and when they buy one, it seems to be an experience-based decision – plus a dash of emotion.

“The brand has a razor-sharp understanding of its owners,” writes MediaPost automotive reporter Karl Greenberg in an article profiling a Subaru TV spot that ran last September.  You may recall the ad:  a hippie grandmother tries to explain her long-ago “Summer of Love” to a young granddaughter, both of them riding in the back of the family Outback while Mom and Dad look on quizzically in the rear view mirror.  In a single creative sweep, Subaru stretches their appeal over two-plus generations while airing a spot people enjoy – and remember.   The entire family ends up hugging a tree.

Subaru is strong on story.  No matter where you go on their Web site, you’re never far from one:
Dear Subaru,
This is the story of my wonderful parents.  After 65 years of working his whole life, my father and my ‘stay at home’ mom embarked upon a cross-country adventure with their dog Buck, a Subaru Outback and a small teardrop trailer … following their dream to travel the country.  After a lot of planning they set off from the Florida Panhandle all the way to Washington State and back.  I cannot help but think they are using their Outback for the EXACT purpose it was made.  They are wonderful people and deserve to enjoy life …”

Nikon gives cameras to ordinary people and then posts their pictures online, a story without words.  Kodak understood that a long time ago; they didn’t sell film as much as they sold pictures.  Story was at the center of their marketing strategy … and should be at yours.   Because it’s the only way to get into people hearts.  And stay there.

“What makes a Subaru a Subaru?” the company asks.   The answer, of course, is … LOVE.   

TakeAway:  Sell the experience, sell the enjoyment.  Sell the pleasure of using your product.  Then the customers you want most will want you, too.

Content © Brian E. Faulkner

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Don't Mess With Your Brand Story.

4/29/2015

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PictureImage © by Brian E. Faulkner
Tags: Microsoft, NPR, George Zimmer, Men’s Wearhouse, Joseph Abboud, Jos. A. Bank, Ford Motor Company, GM, Cadillac, Buick, Ford, Lincoln, Apple, Coca-Cola, New Coke
Every brand, company, product or service has a story – just like people.  People’s stories are a combination of image and reputation, which can be anything from well focused to wildly irresponsible.   Some businesses may be well-positioned (in a controlled, strategic sense) while others cast their reputation to the wind, allowing the marketplace to define who they are and what they represent.   Call it default positioning.   The example that most often comes to my mind is Microsoft, which hasn’t done a great positioning job.  There are many “Microsofts” out there, depending on who's doing the talking.  

Heard an interview with George Zimmer on NPR this morning.  His topic was paying people more, even at the expense of company profits.  But what grabbed my attention was his distinctive gravelly voice, the one he used on television when he was boss of The Men’s Wearhouse – you know the one:  

“You’re going to like the way you look. “I guarantee it!”  

Every spot had a story, and as leader-spokesperson, Zimmer was deeply imbedded in the Men’s Wearhouse image -- along with that famous tagline.  I can’t help but notice that the Men’s Wearhouse strategic positioning has become less distinctive since Zimmer was forced out, supposedly because of management disagreements.  Something’s missing from their advertising, and it’s not just Zimmer.   Despite the few recent Men’s Wearhouse spots featuring signature suit designer Joseph Abboud, their marketing seems focused more on price, like their long-time competitor, Jos. A. Bank, which Men’s Wearhouse purchased early in 2014 after a turbulent takeover battle.   

The takeaway here is that a strong brand story should not be discarded so readily, although I’m sure the Men’s Warehouse board thought long and hard about the strategic consequences of dumping Zimmer.   I find it discouraging, however, that they’ve fallen back on price advertising after such success with set-apart positioning, although it must be working or they wouldn’t do it.  But I’ll bet their margins aren’t as good as when Zimmer was hawking the wares, because price was hardly mentioned in his spots and, as I recall, Wall Street liked the stock.

I have several friends and acquaintances, each with a business in the same retail category.  Two of them ride a high-price wave supported by a brand story that's more than 150 years old.  They don’t have to sell on price and, as a result, get high margins.  Another friend sells the same type of high-end merchandise at market prices, although different brands.  His business story has been established for well over 50 years; customers seek him out because of his quality reputation.  Still others I know in that same business always seem to be wrestling with price.  They don’t command the margins they could because their business stories are indistinct.  They don’t have a Marketable Truth© to stand on. 

Both Ford Motor Company and GM currently are wrestling with their image stories.  GM is in the latter stages of rebooting its Cadillac brand to compete with the best German luxury performance sedans; they've had enough success that Cadillac is no longer seen as exclusively for oldsters seeking a luxury nameplate and plush ride.   Buick, another GM brand that used to have a fuddy-duddy image, is experiencing a surprising sales renaissance driven by rising demand in China, where the brand has become a status symbol.  Different time, different story.

Ford also is into a bit of image retooling of late.  Lincoln (finally!) is thinking about abandoning its confusing alphabet soup model designations in favor of real names like Continental and possibly even Zephyr.   All while Ford grapples with a negative quality blip brought about in recent years by a dashboard communication and entertainment system that has proven troublesome and hard to use – so much so that auto enthusiast Web sites are recommending that people wait ‘til a redesigned system comes out on the 2016 models later this year to purchase their new Fords and Lincolns.   

When I think of brand image, however, I think most often about Apple.  They were an upstart at first, but gradually built a business, operating system and reputation that out-shined the king of personal computers at that time, the venerable IBM.  Will gutsy moves into new product categories like luxury watches and even automobiles sour Apple’s reputation?  Not likely, because they’ve told and retold their brand story so well – and so long – that they’re as close to invincible as any business or brand out there.

Even so, in this day of social-driven media, there are new voices everywhere, and some percentage is quick to broadcast bad news.  One exemplary misstep marketers are quick to recall is the New Coke debacle of 1985, when Coca-Cola almost lost its way -- and that was before the Internet became so widely available.  This very day, April 29, 2015, online rumblings are afoot about a second brand of listeria-laden ice cream and a major beer maker’s label that seems to make light of rape.

Reputation or image -- call it what you will -- can bite you in the backside any minute … but also can help lead you to greatness.  All the more reason to consider whether your brand, business, product or service is solidly positioned in today’s uber-competitive, uber-critical world.

 TakeAway:  Shape your strategic position carefully.  And guard your brand story for dear life.

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner        
Marketable Truth © by Brian E. Faulkner




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Price! Price! Price!

2/16/2015

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Picture
Tags:  Greentoe.com, Priceline, Consumer Reports, Nikon, Canon, Olympus, J. C. Penney, B&H, B&H Photo, online discount cameras, smartshop.org

Have you ever thought about the difference between price selling and selling price?


Price selling is discounting.  It’s lazy marketing.  And having sale after sale after sale not only takes a bite out of profit but could be a long-term trap (just ask J.C. Penney).

Selling price is price-as-product. 

An intriguing example of price-as-product popped up on my screen this morning: Greentoe.com.   Their ad snagged me because I’ve been fishing around online for cameras and lenses.  So I clicked through to their site, where they immediately offered “the lowest prices available” on brands like Nikon, Canon, Olympus, etc.

“People like you are saving big on photo gear,” claimed the big green headline (the shade of money).  “Set your price and save up to 20%.  Brand new products.  No grey market.  Authorized retailers.  USA warranty included.” 

Does the advent of Greentoe.com mean I’ll no longer have to contend with my local Best Buy’s lackluster camera department?  (http://tinyurl.com/nywuxcx)  Does it mean I won’t have to risk ordering my next camera from one of those slippery big city camera discounters?

Maybe …

“Greentoe.com is the first and only website that allows you to name your own price for products in five categories: photography, appliances, musical instruments, baby items, and home theater,” reports shopsmart.org, an online Consumer Reports “best deals” resource.   They’re doing for consumer products what priceline.com has done for air travel and booking hotel rooms.  And it has the same sort of intrigue.  Will they accept my bid?   Will it be soooo much lower than the price somebody else paid?

Greentoe’s process is simple: 

(1) Submit an offer, on “thousands of products” (and give them your payment info).

(2) “Hundreds of retailers” then are notified of your offer (a green, orange or yellow gauge helps you determine how likely they are to accept – similar to Priceline).

(3) The first retailer to accept gets the sale; the transaction is between buyer and seller. 

If you know precisely what item you want, Greentoe.com may be your cup of tea – that is, if their retail partners have what you’re looking for.  The site’s selection of musical instruments and pro audio equipment is far from comprehensive, but it’s not meant to be.  They know that brick-and-mortar stores always have aged merchandise or overstocks they need to sell, so greentoe.com matches them up with customers who live hundreds or thousands of miles away.   Same for TVs, appliances and other products.

Their customers don’t have to be lucky or do the legwork, the company states in its well written and informative blog
, they “just have to have a little luck to find that deal.”   Greentoe provides the luck.

There is something else.   Once you’ve punched in your payment card numbers, there’s no turning back, so if you’re at all queasy about things like that – or don’t make purchase decisions easily (like me), it might be best to buy elsewhere. 

Heretofore, the place I most likely would have picked to buy a camera is New York’s B&H Photo-Video, especially if I needed help choosing the right one.  B&H has it all:  vast selection, attentive service, technical expertise, free advice and competitive prices.  And, if you live anywhere nearby or are visiting Manhattan, you get to handle the goods before making a purchase decision.  Walking into their 70,000 square foot their store is like entering a dream world of professional photo, video and audio goodies.

You can buy cheaper than B&H, but probably not as well. 

To be sure, there are other excellent purveyors of professional photo, video and audio products – online and off, and some may have as compelling a presentation as B&H, but the positioning of that big store at 34th & 9th has always fascinated me.   They’re not only the largest independent (non-chain) photo-video retailer in America, they also communicate their competitive advantages clearly and set price accordingly -- unlike all too many businesses that only play the price card.   B&H.com appears to command a slight price premium over some other online camera sources, and if so, they more than earn their margins with their compelling added-value.

Greentoe.com’s selling proposition also is compelling, however, so I will keep them in mind when it comes time to buy whatever camera I decide on.  Who knows?  My bid price just might outweigh the loyalty I feel to B&H for sending me all those informative catalogs over the years.  But then again, during the time in my life when I sold audio equipment, it always rankled me when I helped educate a prospect only to see him buy from some discounter instead of me. 

It’s so easy to discount, which is the unfortunate first impulse of many businesses.  In most situations, price selling is mind-numbing, profit crushing and unnecessary – unless, like Greentoe.com, price is your product.

TakeAway:  Does your business or brand have competitive advantages that will attract more qualified customers and allow you to command better margins?  Or are you content to sell principally on price?

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner

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"Cathect" Branding.

2/11/2015

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PictureImage © by Brian E. Faulkner
Some years ago, another marketer and I sat looking out the window of his Lower Manhattan office while we discussed how much time it takes for a buyer to make a brand decision.

“Seven seconds,” I said.  He said much less – and today he’d be right.  In this age of massive digital impressions, deciding in favor of a brand could be nearly instantaneous, at least for brands that have successfully embedded themselves in people’s minds. Think about Fox News or The Colbert Report. Mention either brand and you get an immediate, almost visceral, reaction. The same for Coke and Pepsi (but with less intensity).  If you’re a cola fan, you’ve already got your mind made up. 

The brands have done their jobs.

However, a research brief cited today by The Center for Media Research suggests that “the average consumer spends 13 seconds purchasing a brand in-store” and 19 seconds more online.  The research originated with the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute of Marketing Science (“Shopping Takes Only Seconds”) and was commented on in the article by Randall Beard, president of Nielsen North America. Beard suggests that most consumers don’t “engage” with the vast majority of brands as much as they just buy them, giving marketing execs an “unrealistic and overly brand-centric view” of their brands’ importance in people lives – although he makes exceptions for a “limited set of high involvement categories and brands.”   Like expensive cars but maybe not soap.

“People’s lives are already full,” the article noted, “and most people simply don’t have the time or energy to engage with brands in any meaningful way. These consumers most often default to making purchase decisions based on simple habit (previous purchase or ‘instinct’)”.    

My take on this is that if marketers have done an effective job over time, a positive “thought” about their brand will have become stuck to the shopper’s mind, making the pathway to “Yes!” nearly instantaneous.  Sure, call it "instinct".

The example they used was GEICO, which is said to have good “mental availability.”   But the Energizer Bunny offers an even better example.  He lives in my mind (and no doubt other minds) with a clear connection to product benefits, unlike the GEICO gecko, who is a pitchman for the product but does not inhabit it like the Bunny does.  By the way, when was the last time you saw the energetic pink bunny “going and going” on TV compared to the nearly omnipresent green lizard?  

It may simply be that people love the Energizer Bunny but only like the GEICO gecko.  The Bunny is “invested with mental or emotional energy” (another definition of cathect) whereas the Gecko is merely entertaining.  The word cathect comes to mind (in psychoanalysis: to concentrate psychic energy on a particular person, thing, or idea).   

Apple is a great example of cathect branding because of people’s emotional or mental connection to both its products and its brand.   So is Mercedes-Benz, which occupies prime mental real estate in the luxury sedan market.  Cadillac used to be called the “Standard of the World” -- and yearns to be so again.

APCO Insight has identified eight emotions that connect people and brands.  They include understanding, approachability, relevance, admiration, curiosity, identification, empowerment and pride. 

“The best brands are those that build a strong, enduring emotional attachment with consumers,” says Byran Dumont, president of the research consultancy, “in addition to acting as a highly predictive tool for consumers’ purchase choices.”  Their findings, presented as the 100 Most Loved Companies, were gathered from surveys of more than 70,000 people over ten years about 600 of the world’s largest corporate brands in 15 international markets.  (http://tinyurl.com/madelmz)

American brands In the top 10?  

  #1 – Disney:  the brand has a strong emotional link  

  #2 – Yahoo:  despite its troubles, devotees understand the brand and find it approachable    

  #3 – Google:  people take pleasure in buying into the brand

  #4 – Sony:  respondents are curious, want to know more about the company 

  #7 – Netflix:  plays a meaningful role in people lives  

  #8 – Whole Foods:  is admired by its customers (Publix was #43, Kroger #52). 

  #9 – Apple:  shows empowerment and brand admiration). 

#10 – Lowe’s:  customers are comfortable with this home improvement store 

The Home Depot is #54.  Interestingly, Target is #21, but WalMart apparently didn’t make the cut.   Discover (#51) and CBS (#83) are the only TV channels in the Top 100.  The sole hotel chain?  Marriott.  Starbucks?  #96!

So it’s more than mere brand awareness that drives these placements – that’s all too easily stoked with media dollars.  There’s something else at work here.  These Top 100 brands are … loved!  It’s a heart thing -- people get them.  And that takes only half a microsecond.

TakeAway:  Do customers connect to your brand?  With their heads?  Or their hearts?

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner

Tags:  Fox News, The Colbert Report, Coke, Pepsi, The Center for Media Research, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute of Marketing Science, Nielsen North America, GEICO, Energizer Bunny, Apple, Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, 100 Most Loved Companies, Disney, Yahoo, Google, Sony, Netflix, Whole Foods, Apple, Lowe’s, WalMart, Discover, CBS, Marriott, Starbucks



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    sample blog:

    This is a sample blog  for writer Brian E. Faulkner.   It presents stories about brands that do a good job communicating competitive advantage. Stories have been gleaned from the business press, personal experience and occasional interviews. Updates are made from time to time, and every so often there will be a post of general interest -- about things like success, passion, social trends, etc. 

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    Brian Faulkner is a writer and strategic communication consultant who helps business clients explain their competitive advantage in compelling and enduring ways.
     
    He also is a five-time Emmy award winning Public Television writer & narrator for a highly-rated and well-loved magazine series.

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