20
Nov

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - “The Virtuous Cycle”

Brief, well-designed, and very impactful short narrated by Bill Gates that was played at the recent G20 summit. It holds a number of important truths.

Innovation. Each individual person, the US as a nation, and the entire world at large really only has one long-term solution to global economic woes: We must innovate our way out. I would hazard a guess that we are already in the early stages of our next major age of innovation, spurred by the foundations and information networks provided by the rise of the internet. Now we need to create. Where is the next cotton gin, Model T, or television? For the first time ever, we can collaborate with our fellow Earthicans instantaneously. What are we making? More than sweat shop sneakers, I hope.

Good begets good. The Japan/Brazil/Mozambique example discussed in the short is a great story, and incredible support for those of the “expand the pie” mindset (rather than “take their slice”). The more information and opportunities flow through the economic channels of the world, the more we will see them grow and return in new ways. By helping developing nations with education, running small businesses, and establishing new industries, developed countries can forge important partnerships that are beneficial to all. Developed nations may even observe new innovations or ways of doing things that spring forth during these initial stages of economic development.

Keep moving forward. Things will never be what they’ve always been, and that’s been true every day since the beginning of time. We need to embrace the turns of the global tides that have already begun and figure out what’s next. But there is one important benefit in this era that humanity has never had before: the whole world is in this together.

30-Day Challenge #16

6 notes bill and melinda gates foundation / globalization / innovation / g20 / marketing / business / economics /
19
Nov
The Creative Agency as a Supplier (and what it means for Supply Chain Management) In many large firms, the supply chain management function spends an enormous amount of time managing suppliers. This includes things like negotiating contracts for raw materials, maintaining inventory and order timelines, and measuring efficiency and costs. Keeping such a close on the supply side of the business is proven to pay big dividends. For companies with manufactured products, the cost savings created by an efficient supply chain can often contribute more to the health of bottom line than increases in revenue yielded by marketing efforts. These meticulously-designed supplier management processes have proven to be incredibly valuable to the firms that implement them, increasing efficiency while lowering total costs in essential areas of the business. But which department is most often labeled “inefficient,” frequently has its effectiveness called into question, and is first on the chopping block when it comes to cutting costs? Marketing. Which is why we need to start treating marketing providers like suppliers. Manufacturing-heavy companies should take the same supplier management concepts applied to the back end of their supply chains and apply them forward to creative suppliers like internal marketing departments, creative consultants, and advertising agencies. Here’s why: Supply chain as a marketable advantage. The sourcing function within a given supply chain management team can work with creative suppliers to highlight back-end benefits and supply chain advantages that are unfamiliar to the marketing functions. Advertising campaigns are often based on a unique component of the production process that separates the product from its competition. This difference is then highlighted as a benefit or a “reason to believe” in marketing communications. Budweiser’s beer is “beachwood aged,” and other beers aren’t. Who knows what it means, but it’s a unique aspect of Budweiser’s production. Wendy’s burgers use ”fresh, never frozen beef patties.” This tagline emphasizes a success of the restaurant’s supply chain, while also implying that other restaurants do freeze their meat.  What gets measured, gets done. Supply chain management teams evaluate all suppliers using scorecards with standardized metrics for success, costs, efficiency, and more. Marketing suppliers can be evaluated on these same principles, which can help to alleviate the long-standing grievance that it’s almost impossible to ever tell if the marketing team is doing anything. The creative scorecard could include a number of relevant metrics: •Number of staff members/hours/other resources devoted to account •Awards won by agency / “creativity” metric •Increases in revenue thanks to marketing efforts (difficult to measure, but becoming easier if promotions and sales are tracked online)  Applying supply chain management principles to creative suppliers can clearly help to better measure effectiveness and manage costs. There is one major problem, however: Marketing doesn’t like it.   Members of the marketing team, advertising agencies, and other creative suppliers will almost always resist being treated like another node in the supply chain. “You can’t rush the creative process, it’s about the work, etc.” These are valid complaints, but they are only self-defeating in the end.  Creating a good ad campaign is really different than providing raw wheat gluten for processing. But if creative suppliers want to stand up for themselves, demonstrate their value, and stay off the table the next time budget cuts come around, they need to be willing to join the supply chain and prove their worth.  30-Day Challenge #15

The Creative Agency as a Supplier (and what it means for Supply Chain Management)

In many large firms, the supply chain management function spends an enormous amount of time managing suppliers. This includes things like negotiating contracts for raw materials, maintaining inventory and order timelines, and measuring efficiency and costs. Keeping such a close on the supply side of the business is proven to pay big dividends.

For companies with manufactured products, the cost savings created by an efficient supply chain can often contribute more to the health of bottom line than increases in revenue yielded by marketing efforts.

These meticulously-designed supplier management processes have proven to be incredibly valuable to the firms that implement them, increasing efficiency while lowering total costs in essential areas of the business. But which department is most often labeled “inefficient,” frequently has its effectiveness called into question, and is first on the chopping block when it comes to cutting costs? Marketing. Which is why we need to start treating marketing providers like suppliers.

Manufacturing-heavy companies should take the same supplier management concepts applied to the back end of their supply chains and apply them forward to creative suppliers like internal marketing departments, creative consultants, and advertising agencies. Here’s why:

Supply chain as a marketable advantage. The sourcing function within a given supply chain management team can work with creative suppliers to highlight back-end benefits and supply chain advantages that are unfamiliar to the marketing functions.

Advertising campaigns are often based on a unique component of the production process that separates the product from its competition. This difference is then highlighted as a benefit or a “reason to believe” in marketing communications. Budweiser’s beer is “beachwood aged,” and other beers aren’t. Who knows what it means, but it’s a unique aspect of Budweiser’s production. Wendy’s burgers use ”fresh, never frozen beef patties.” This tagline emphasizes a success of the restaurant’s supply chain, while also implying that other restaurants do freeze their meat. 

What gets measured, gets done. Supply chain management teams evaluate all suppliers using scorecards with standardized metrics for success, costs, efficiency, and more. Marketing suppliers can be evaluated on these same principles, which can help to alleviate the long-standing grievance that it’s almost impossible to ever tell if the marketing team is doing anything. The creative scorecard could include a number of relevant metrics:
 
•Number of staff members/hours/other resources devoted to account
 
•Awards won by agency / “creativity” metric
 
•Increases in revenue thanks to marketing efforts (difficult to measure, but becoming easier if promotions and sales are tracked online)
 
Applying supply chain management principles to creative suppliers can clearly help to better measure effectiveness and manage costs. There is one major problem, however: Marketing doesn’t like it. 
 
Members of the marketing team, advertising agencies, and other creative suppliers will almost always resist being treated like another node in the supply chain. “You can’t rush the creative process, it’s about the work, etc.” These are valid complaints, but they are only self-defeating in the end.
 
Creating a good ad campaign is really different than providing raw wheat gluten for processing. But if creative suppliers want to stand up for themselves, demonstrate their value, and stay off the table the next time budget cuts come around, they need to be willing to join the supply chain and prove their worth.
 
30-Day Challenge #15

2 notes marketing / supply chain management / branding / advertising / creative / business / supplier management /
18
Nov
You, your product, and your brand are not at the center of the solar system. When working in marketing or advertising, the brand is all-consuming. You think about it constantly— how to improve it, how it compares to competition, how and why people do or don’t choose it. This quickly becomes an involuntary process, kind of like the Tetris effect. (Definition: “When people devote sufficient time and attention to an activity that it begins to overshadow their thoughts, mental images, and dreams.”) This is great for you. You’re passionate, you’re deeply ingrained in the work, and you’re devoted to achieving results. The only problem is that no one but you is thinking about the brand this way. The product is the center of your universe. But for your customers, it might be more like Europa, ice-laden second of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter. As in, a very small celestial body in the grand solar system of their everyday lives. And that’s okay! People can’t live their lives in a constant state of admiration for their dish soap. But you need to know your brand’s place in the sky in order to effectively communicate with your target market. Keep your brand in perspective. How is it used by consumers? Why do they like it? What are the everyday situations in which it is used? Figure out which corner of life your brand occupies and completely own that space. If your product is a simple solution to a common annoyance, accept it and own it with authority, evidence, and humor. 30-Day Challenge #14

You, your product, and your brand are not at the center of the solar system.

When working in marketing or advertising, the brand is all-consuming. You think about it constantly— how to improve it, how it compares to competition, how and why people do or don’t choose it. This quickly becomes an involuntary process, kind of like the Tetris effect. (Definition: “When people devote sufficient time and attention to an activity that it begins to overshadow their thoughts, mental images, and dreams.”)

This is great for you. You’re passionate, you’re deeply ingrained in the work, and you’re devoted to achieving results. The only problem is that no one but you is thinking about the brand this way.

The product is the center of your universe. But for your customers, it might be more like Europa, ice-laden second of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter. As in, a very small celestial body in the grand solar system of their everyday lives. And that’s okay! People can’t live their lives in a constant state of admiration for their dish soap. But you need to know your brand’s place in the sky in order to effectively communicate with your target market.

Keep your brand in perspective. How is it used by consumers? Why do they like it? What are the everyday situations in which it is used? Figure out which corner of life your brand occupies and completely own that space. If your product is a simple solution to a common annoyance, accept it and own it with authority, evidence, and humor.

30-Day Challenge #14

16 notes brand / marketing / advertising / business / solar system / universe / consumer /
17
Nov
Admitting that your brand sucks may be the only way to save it. One of the hardest things to do in marketing is to look at your brand objectively and try to see the flaws in it. This is your baby, your DNA. You spend 23 hours a day thinking about it and obsessing over it to make sure that every hair is in place and its outfits are perfect and everything is up to par. Yet, the kids at school just might not like it. Maybe they’re just bullies. If it keeps happening, you might have to take off your love blinders and see what everyone else sees: your brand sucks. And the only way to make it better is admitting that to yourself and, quite possibly, the entire student body. Remember Domino’s Pizza Turnaround? After a huge PR scandal following a viral video with two disgruntled employees adding some “special bodily sauces” to pizzas in the kitchen, Domino’s seized the opportunity to launch a campaign based on one simple fact: You think our pizza is bad, and we hear you. They highlighted scathing reviews on national commercials, featured heartbroken corporate chefs vowing to do better next time, and promised that change was coming to your friendly neighborhood cardboard pizza joint. After years of ignoring all the brand bashing that was happening, Domino’s finally listened (thanks in no small part to the enhanced consumer insights provided by social media feedback) and admitted they had a problem with their product. What happened next was amazing. Domino’s went to great lengths to reboot their recipe from scratch and create something delicious, all the while keeping customers posted via Facebook updates, Tweets, YouTube videos, and TV commercials. Their honesty and transparent commitment to fixing what was broken paid off: the brand just reported same-store quarterly sales gains of 14%, one of the highest ever for a fast-food restaurant chain. Bottom line— “Our pizza was bad, we fixed it, please give us another chance.” AND IT WORKED. Here’s how to do the same for your brand: Swallow your pride. Be smart enough to realize when things are broken, and just admit it. there’s no shame in starting over. Focus on the feedback. What are your customers saying? Be sure to incorporate their ideas and thoughts into your plan to un-suck your brand. It shows that you’re not only listening, but that you value their opinions. Show, don’t tell. Talk is cheap. You can take out ads explaining your relaunch plan or write lengthy “vision statements,” but those hold zero interest to anyone looking to buy something. What exactly have you changed, and why is it better than before? Demonstrate. Everyone loves a comeback, right? 30-Day Challenge #13

Admitting that your brand sucks may be the only way to save it.

One of the hardest things to do in marketing is to look at your brand objectively and try to see the flaws in it. This is your baby, your DNA. You spend 23 hours a day thinking about it and obsessing over it to make sure that every hair is in place and its outfits are perfect and everything is up to par. Yet, the kids at school just might not like it. Maybe they’re just bullies.

If it keeps happening, you might have to take off your love blinders and see what everyone else sees: your brand sucks. And the only way to make it better is admitting that to yourself and, quite possibly, the entire student body.

Remember Domino’s Pizza Turnaround? After a huge PR scandal following a viral video with two disgruntled employees adding some “special bodily sauces” to pizzas in the kitchen, Domino’s seized the opportunity to launch a campaign based on one simple fact: You think our pizza is bad, and we hear you.

They highlighted scathing reviews on national commercials, featured heartbroken corporate chefs vowing to do better next time, and promised that change was coming to your friendly neighborhood cardboard pizza joint. After years of ignoring all the brand bashing that was happening, Domino’s finally listened (thanks in no small part to the enhanced consumer insights provided by social media feedback) and admitted they had a problem with their product.

What happened next was amazing. Domino’s went to great lengths to reboot their recipe from scratch and create something delicious, all the while keeping customers posted via Facebook updates, Tweets, YouTube videos, and TV commercials. Their honesty and transparent commitment to fixing what was broken paid off: the brand just reported same-store quarterly sales gains of 14%, one of the highest ever for a fast-food restaurant chain.

Bottom line— “Our pizza was bad, we fixed it, please give us another chance.” AND IT WORKED. Here’s how to do the same for your brand:

  • Swallow your pride. Be smart enough to realize when things are broken, and just admit it. there’s no shame in starting over.
  • Focus on the feedback. What are your customers saying? Be sure to incorporate their ideas and thoughts into your plan to un-suck your brand. It shows that you’re not only listening, but that you value their opinions.
  • Show, don’t tell. Talk is cheap. You can take out ads explaining your relaunch plan or write lengthy “vision statements,” but those hold zero interest to anyone looking to buy something. What exactly have you changed, and why is it better than before? Demonstrate.

Everyone loves a comeback, right?

30-Day Challenge #13

14 notes domino's / pizza / turnaround / brand / marketing / viral / advertising /
16
Nov

Small Business Saturday on November 26 (Presented by American Express)

Growing up in New Jersey, I spent the school year in a fairly typical suburban area. Aside from the “3 Square Jersey Meals” combo of bagel shops/pizzerias/diners, most businesses were not of the local variety. We didn’t really have a “main street” with shops and restaurants and general stores. The smallest grocery store around was the Super Shop-Rite. Most towns in the area were the same way. You got a chain grocer, a chain restaurant (maybe two), a video store, and a big box. That’s just how suburban sprawl goes, I guess. For most the year, I was barely aware that small businesses even existed.

But each summer, I’d spend 3 months living at the Jersey shore. The little oceanfront hamlets crowded together at the Atlantic’s edge, some towns smaller than one square mile. The houses were closer to one another. The trees were taller, and sometimes they even made canopies over the street (something we didn’t see much back home). You could ride your bike everywhere. People had beautiful front porches, and actually sat on them and acknowledged their neighbors as they passed by.

Most importantly: there was a main street. With businesses! Local ones! Little shops and cafes occupying storefronts deemed too small for the national chains, serving as meeting spots and neighborhood destinations and pleasant distractions after a day at the beach. The small businesses at the center of each shore point are what pulled the towns together; they helped coalesce the throngs of tourists and locals alike into a true community, bonded around the goods, services, and experiences served up on Main Street.

Good on American Express for organizing and promoting Small Business Saturday. Black Friday has become a consumer gorge-fest of obscene proportions, in which big box stores like Best Buy and Walmart open at midnight to hundreds of rabid customers and people are literally trampled to death. Given my digital inclinations, I’m a big fan of Cyber Monday, but you can’t say it does anything to support your local economy (not that that’s a pre-requisite for shopping, but its nice to have). Beyond the political talking point-ness of the statement, small businesses really are an important part of our communities that deserve and need our support.

Through its OPEN Forum targeted at connecting entrepreneurs with one another and providing small business advice, American Express has recently positioned its brand as a best friend to business owners. By focusing on this important, growing, and beloved segment of the population, AmEx can implant itself into the DNA of these small businesses. As they grow and become more profitable, AmEx will continue to be seen as a trusted partner and adviser and reap the benefits of their success. “We’ve been with you all along,” is a powerful brand statement.

AmEx’s Small Business Saturday is a great example of a brand doing something that is both good for business and good for the world. I know I’ll be shopping local on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, and I hope you do the same.

30-Day Challenge #12

30 notes american express / small business saturday / amex / local / marketing / advertising / jersey shore / new jersey /
Older
Newer