Often, in this world of so many products we find that all of the products within a product genre share the same functional qualities.  Finding a functional differentiator is extremely difficult.  A functional differentiator is a product quality or feature that makes it different from another product in the same genre.  For example, I sell a lot on eBay.  I sell the same goods that a number of other people are selling.  So, how do I differentiate and get people to buy from me instead of another seller?  Smoke and mirrors.

The smoke and mirrors (aka induced differentiation) of marketing is the way that most companies position their brands to close sales.  A colleague of mine worked for Associated Foods Continue Reading »

This morning I was up at the University of Utah when I saw a little sign off to the side of a walkway. What really got my attention was that the sign was partly hidden behind the low hanging boughs of a tree. My first instinct was to walk to the other side of the walkway so that I could read what it was advertising; The Ultimate Sidewalk Sale.

I immediately though that it was a rather weird placement for a sign. Why didn’t they put it out in the open where people would see it more? As I was thinking about this I saw several other signs, all partially hidden behind trees, planter boxes, etc. Then the marketer in me kicked in, and it hit me.

The reason why the campus bookstore was advertising in this overt and somewhat abstract way is because it gets attention. This is what I like to call ambient advertising. Place an advertisement in an ambient, somewhat out of the way and unusual place and it is sure to get noticed.

Why is Ambient Advertising So Effective?

Because of the advertisements unique placement, people that notice the advertisement notice it more than had it been out in the open. People tend to ignore advertisements that are slapped right in the middle of their view. On the flip side, if an advertisement is placed in their periphery or in a highly unusual location then they notice and they often think about it.

The more you can get a prospective customer to notice and think about your product, the greater the probability that they Continue Reading »

If you are a new business you probably haven’t had too much exposure to the world of PR yet. Let me tell you a little about it.

A PR firm manages the flow of information between an organization and the public. Thats it. That is the main purpose of a PR firm. Sounds simple, right?

Well, it is and it isn’t. The great thing about PR is that it can be managed directly by the business if done correctly. The bad thing about PR is that it cannot be managed directly by the business if not done correctly. That might sound like a stupid redundancy, but it is hitting home on the point I will be making – if from business inception (or business youth at least) you handle your own PR effectively then you are on the right road. Big companies often rely on PR firms to manage their public affairs because they didn’t start right from the beginning.

Here are three simple ways you can keep on top of your companies PR, now and forever:

1. Be Honest and Forthright. Nothing can sink a ship faster than lying to the world and themselves that there are no icebergs in the water. A look at the Enron situation illustrates this point. Enron’s CEO, Kenneth Lay, had built a workplace culture of enthusiasm and business strength. In the background, however, things began to slip and the business was going to see cutbacks. To bolster his business up, he opened off shore accounts, opened the business to shady internet trading and did a lot of dishonest things to make it seem like their assets were larger than they really were. Just like the little white lie we’ve all told, Mr. Lay tried to hide his first lie with a second lie, his second lie with at third, and so on. Before long, Lay was embroiled in one of the largest accounting/business scandals the US has ever seen. The best PR a company can build for itself is the appearance and reality of 100% honesty. Because you and your employees are human situations may occur (dishonesty) for which you will need to set the record straight. It is imperative that you set the record straight and not just try to sweep it under the rug. As long as these situations are far and few between the public will respect you for coming out with the truth, especially when it is hard to do so. This is the best policy you can implement to maintain a successful PR campaign far into the future; if you never get caught up in a scandal you will never need a cleanup crew. Continue Reading »

Organizations that continue to cling to old media are refusing to open themselves up to new results.  Old media, including newspapers, television broadcasting and radio has been declining in effectiveness for marketing.

So, why do organizations still cling away?  Because old media is strong media.  Erik Schonfeld said in his TechCrunch blog:

industries that are used to control don’t like to give it up. Old media is like that. Even in this day and age, its struggle with control issues continues. Old media knows the relationship with its audience has changed, but it is still not quite sure how to deal with it.

Because they are not completely sure how to handle the situation they just keep plugging away with their current efforts.  Because they print case studies that say traditional advertising is still very effective, the masses believe it.  In reality though, traditional advertising is loosing it’s effectiveness and isn’t reaching as many true impressions.

Businesses can improve marketing results by finding new methods of marketing – through capitalizing on the social media and TEXT GENeration phenomenon.  Read these articles to see how this can be done:

Get Digital :: Get Noticed

Viral Video Marketing

Marketing for the TEXT GENeration

“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication.” ~Western Union internal memo, 1876.

“The concept is interesting… but to earn better than a ‘C,’ the idea must be feasible.” ~Yale professor on conceptual paper that became FedEx.

How crazy these early assumptions were! At the time though, most people having read or heard these quotes direct from the horses mouth probably would have legitimized them through popular consent. Starting with 14 planes in 1973, Fred Smith took his “not feasible” concept and created an airfreight shipping platform based around localized hubs – an idea that was new to the industry. Many people, his business professor included, thought Mr. Smith was making a costly mistake. Two years later he was turning an impressive profit, and FedEx hasn’t looked back since.

In business I’ve come across many skeptics – most of whom I come across actually – who immediately dismiss my ideas on mobile marketing as being ‘pie in the sky’ and not feasible. However, when I show them how well mobile marketing has done in Europe and East Asia and how quickly it is taking off here in the United States they change their tune.

Several brainstorming sessions at the Projective Marketing firm have turned to near brawls as decision makers make assumptions about what will and will not work. This is not all bad, by any means. A little conflict and critique is good in any business. A lot of the criticisms pan out and end up saving the company money. If such criticism had existed in the Projective Marketing structure since the beginning, however, the business would have never left the drawing board.

Unvalidated assumptions are bad. I call them unvalidated because they are assumptions based upon what ’seems’ will happen and not upon what has been experienced through vigorous validation testing. Good businessmen/women don’t so much as take risks, they manage risks. Part of managing risks is discussing with others an idea, measuring the risks and returns involved and then making a decision whether or not to manage that risk further and act on it. This process is validation. Sometimes validation won’t make it past the first few steps and thats okay, but it always needs to make it past the discussion stage.

How can we avoid making unvalidated assumptions?

Be creative! A lot of people say that they aren’t creative and there is nothing they can do about it. That simply isn’t true. Read blogs, books and the news. Garnish an opinion on what you read. How can you share that opinion? There, you were creative! This is how creative business works. Sometimes it is idea stealing. That’s okay. You don’t have to be the first person to come up with an idea for you to write about it or build upon it. This blog entry, for example, was inspired by an excellent article, “What’s the Ultimate Creativity Killer”, over at the copyblogger website.

Use the 5 Minute Rule. If someone pitches you a new idea, if you are in a brainstorming session or if you are trying to decide between white or wheat bread you can use the 5 Minute Rule to make a validated assumption. The rule goes like this: when a new idea is pitched only focus on the good qualities and possibilites surrounding that idea for 5 minutes. After that, feel free to bust in the idea with a stick. This greatly decreases the chance that you will make a decision you will regret in the future.

Create a Culture of Creativity. Most people have heard about the Google 20% time where employees are given 20% of their work day to innovate and be creative on individual projects. Scott Berkun does a great job of explaining that it is not the actual Google rule behind this idea that has created the Google empire, but instead the Google Culture of Creativity that has built the empire. In short, businesses can create a Culture of Creativity by:

• utilizing a horizontal hierarchy. Allow your employees to vote, peer review or debate upon which ideas and directions are best for the company. As smart as you think you might be (being the BOSS and all) you really could learn a lot from your employees who work directly with the consumer.
• giving a little leeway and expecting a whole lot more. Treat your employees like you would a very responsible child. Realize that people need leeway so they don’t feel repressed. Realize that good employees are willing to work hard and want to work hard but sometimes need a little more leeway so they can. Extend your employees leeway and expect their work to improve. If it doesn’t improve or if they take advantage of the leeway then FIRE em! There are better employees out there.
• empowering employee collaboration. Make sure you are giving employees credit for hard work they do but also make sure they are collaborating with others and mixing the ideas around. There are no super stars on the most successful teams. Provide them with tools to share and build on each others ideas, like the Google Aps online word/data processing suite (FREE).

Validations in a nutshell:

If you are avoiding rash assumptions and creating validations instead then you are sure to succeed in life. This doesn’t guarantee your business success, but it does guarantee that you will be able to make the right decision about when to drop your business and walk the other way.

While I’m not an expert, this advice isn’t all mine either. The advice is time tested and proven by the pros. It is what has differentiated Google and helped them create their empire.

A final word on creativity:

Being creative requires that the environment in which you work allows you to be creative. Google environment allows for creativity = Google comes out with new innovations every day. Microsoft environment does not allow for creativity = Microsoft borrows a lot of Googles and Yahoos and Twitters and…you get the point… innovations every day. The end result? Different profits.

This age group is made up of teens and young adults who use advanced technology multiple times a day to communicate, work and learn. They frequently use some or all of the following:

• Social Networking – 75% have a Facebook account
• Text Messaging – 94% own a cell phone
• Instant Messaging – 76% use instant messaging
• Blogs – 44% read and 28% write blogs
• mp3 Players – 60% own an mp3 player
• peer to peer file sharing – 49% download music via file sharing
• SOURCE: Reynol Junco and Jeanna Mastrodicasa Connecting to the Net.Generation: What higher education professionals need to know about today’s students, NASPA; First edition (March 29, 2007)

Before now, terminology for this age group has been so diverse (called Y or Z Generation, Internet Generation, Millenials, etc.) that it was very confusing as to who is who. A coworker of mine coined the phrase TEXT GENeration and it has stuck at our marketing firm. It is more fitting than all the other naming terminology because it incorporates the word TEXT. If a person is more inclined to use TEXT than SCRAWL they can be considered the TEXT GENeration. Some might argue that this is too diverse a group in that some elderly are quite “hip” on technology and use text messaging, instant messaging and social networking regularly. They are the exception though.

To keep in mind when you market to the TEXT GENeration:

• They have embraced technology and uses it in their every day lives.
• They understand computers and technology and are not afraid of it.
• They are the busiest generation yet. As such, they are rarely at home.
• They watch less television, listen to less radio and read fewer books and magazines.
• Many are keen on marketing and can easily say no to traditional advertising calls to action.

The reason why is most eloquently illustrated by the 19th century philosopher and author, Henry David Thoreau:

We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us. Did you ever think what those sleepers (railroad ties) are that underlie the railroad? Each one is a man, an Irishman, or a Yankee man. The rails are laid on them, and they are covered with sand, and the cars run smoothly over them. They are sound sleepers, I assure you. And every few years a new lot is laid down and run over; so that, if some have the pleasure of riding on a rail, others have the misfortune to be ridden upon. And when they run over a man that is walking in his sleep, a supernumerary sleeper in the wrong position, and wake him up, they suddenly stop the cars, and make a hue and cry about it, as if this were an exception. I am glad to know that it takes a gang of men for every five miles to keep the sleepers down and level in their beds as it is, for this is a sign that they may sometime get up again.

We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us. We do not drive our cars; they drive us.  We do not direct the traffic of our own lives; it directs us.

Such is the case for 99% of people today.  People purchase a certain Cola over another (Coke vs. Pepsi) because it tastes better.  People purchase the more expensive milk because of the trusted label.  Some people even refuse to purchase the generic store brands (Western Family, Krogers, Safeway) because they don’t taste as good.

All of this is made possible by marketing.  When you buy the Nike shoes you are paying for the advertising and sometimes a slightly superior product quality.  Is it worth the extra money?  Usually, no.

• Double blind tests PROVE that people decide the “superior” cola based upon advertising.
• National Milk brands are often bottled in the SAME plants as the generic store brands.  No link on this one, just check it out for yourself next time you are in the dairy section.  Usually by the expiration date their will also be a “plant number”…often the same as the “plant number” on all the competitors bottles too.
• Double blind tests PROVE that people actually prefer generic store brands over national brands.

So, why do I need to know marketing?

Because if you don’t know marketing then it is riding you!  Marketing is everywhere.  Conservative sources estimate that you are inundated by marketing messages several hundred times a day.

As much as I enjoy the writings of Thoreau, I feel like he was a little bit radical in his approach to marketing.  He, like many other philosophers of our day, taught that marketing was unethical because you were teaching people to differentiate items by leading them to believe one item had more value than another, when they were often the same.  While a lot of current philosophers hold stock in this idea, I don’t.  I’m not a philosopher, I’m a marketer.

I’ve been inundated with all the same marketing messages you have, but I’ve made it appoint over the years to make marketing work for me.  I know how to ride the train…and I’m quite enjoying the smooth ride (air cushioned seats).  With the economic downturn it is important that you know how to ride the train too.

Here are a few ways you can make marketing work for you:

• Watch, read and view advertisements sceptically.  When you buy Jello brand gelatin you are buying the advertising.  The powder inside the box of the store brand is the exact same… I promise.
• Reduce your trips to the grocery store.  Make a weekly list of “to buy” items and stick to it.
• When a car leaves the lot it is worth a lot less.  So it is with almost everything.  Don’t be afraid to buy used.  Unless the item has a non-transferable warranty then it is usually worth just as much as it was new… only the price tag has changed.
• Try your own hand at marketing.  Next time your computer needs upgrading sell the old one on Craigslist or another free local classifieds website.  It’s fun, profitable and it helps save the environment.
• Don’t stay late at work.  Don’t work weekends.  If you have to work 60 hour weeks to keep up with the bills then you aren’t leaving time to enjoy the items creating the bills.  If a large house, boat, new car or cell phone is cutting into your rump (through your pocket book) then you need to downsize or eliminate.  Enjoy life.  There are a ton of jobs out there that don’t expect your heart and soul.  Get one of those.

Here are a few ways you can make marketing work for your business:

• Keep up on technology.  The only group of businesses that don’t need to worry about this are those offering services to the dead or nearly dead.  Every business (except old folk or funeral homes) sell products to people that are keeping up on technology. This is not saying you need to splurge and buy a ton of new computers or higher computer programmers.  This is saying that you need to analyze your business and market segment.  If you are relatively savvy with technology then you can self analyze your situation.  If you don’t own a computer, don’t feel comfortable managing your computer and making changes to it or if you haven’t heard of Facebook then you probably need to enlist some help in analyzing your situation.  Ask a neighbor, friend or one of your children to sit down with you and tell you how they use technology every day.  Is there some way you can key in on this to increase your business traffic?
• Get a website. If your business does not have a website then you are losing sales to your competitors who have one.  Today when people want a phone number they often turn to Google or an internet directory.  Phonebooks are dying.  If you need a website you should check out these guys.
• Read this blog.  This blog is dedicated to following and reporting on technological advances in marketing.
• Contact Projective Marketing. I’ve been working with Projective Marketing for the past six months in developing some fresh and very effective ways to market products and ideas Guerrilla style.