Social Experiment in Branding
Brand is more than a logo. And the new web application BrandTags.net shows this. Brand is what’s in someone’s head based on their interaction with the company / product. It can be generic, specific, good, or bad. Marketers influence this through advertising, packaging, voice greetings, logo, color, athletes, price, and more. What people ultimately associate, catalog, and share with others is ultimately the “brand.”
Today’s social tools are showing marketers what they’ve only collected on the street and through focus groups. Today information comes at you faster, is more honest, and includes huge sample sizes from a cross-section of people around the world.
For some, the result is positive (Apple, Mercedes-Benz, Harley-Davidson). For others, I’m sure that CEOs, CMOs, Brand Managers, and board members are gritting their teeth (WalMart).
Give it a try. Enter your thoughts on a brand, and feed the collective intelligence brand meter.
Multiple Marketing Messages. One Brand Promise.
Having produced many podcasts myself, I must confess I’m a big fan of Brian Martin’s Brand Fast-Trackers series. The quality of conversation and the recording make it stand out above the average. I look forward to the guests, the insight, and the learning I get from listening.
John Adams, the CEO of The Martin Agency, was a recent interview. The Martin Agency became the first advertising agency to be named “Agency of the Year” five times by Adweek magazine. Adams brings 30 years of experience to the table when he talks about marketing. He’s worked to create some amazingly memorable campaigns, mascots, marks, and more. A recent success is his work with GEICO and their gecko and caveman campaigns.
An insight from this podcast that hit me as a very unorthodox and perhaps breakthrough was Adam’s recognition and support for deeper layers and multiple messages. This is one trend that makes a lot of sense for new media and marketing to the digital-raised, multi-tasking, short-attention span Millennials. Check out the quote below, and be sure to listen to the full podcast for additional insight.
Consumers themselves in many ways account for the recent explosion of multiple advertising messages across both old and new media. Adams believes today’s consumers have advanced beyond classical marketing tenets. “The capacity of people to hold multiple ideas about the same brand in their minds at the same time has absolutely evolved,” says The Martin Agency topper. “We are finding out with GEICO and with other brands that it is not only possible but highly desirable to tell multiple stories and have multiple promises for a brand, which is contrary to the way we were all taught.” Placing a specific brand message with the audience most likely to embrace it is the other portion of the equation. The GEICO campaign, with its multiple messages delivered nearly simultaneously, offers a perfect case study. “The one thing that unifies them is the overarching brand promise: ‘A 15-minute call could save you 15 percent or more on your car insurance.’ But the way in which each of those campaigns is done is completely different, and 30 years ago that would have been heresy.”
- From Episode: John Adams downloads on four decades with The Martin Agency
Cool Gadget
Now this is one cool gadget and another stick in my eye for not listening to my Mother who begged me to stick with piano lessons as a boy. Here’s one more reason for young boys and girls to stick with their lessons.
The Yamaha notepad / keyboard hybrid concept: “Key for Journey.” This is a product design that I hope makes it into the real world. I love the Steve Jobs-like industrial design. I can almost smell the leather (anyone remember DigiScents?). Practically see the wear and oils in the leather on the notebook’s spine. Showing the keys through the leather is just so cool.
World Grain Stock at a 35 Year Low
The price of food is on the rise. As a story and charts from the Wall Street Journal show, rice (prices up a whopping 134 percent), wheat, corn, and soy are all above a 60 percent increase over the last 52 weeks.
Cargill, a large international provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services, saw a Chevron-like return in their last quarter with $1.03B in revenue. When I read the CEO’s comments in the WSJ, I couldn’t help but ask myself if large corporate farms control supply driving prices to their favor. While he says that they’re “doing an exceptional job,” my thought is this is an answer to shareholders, not the rest of the world who require the commodities Cargill, ADM, and others provide.
Cargill’s chairman and CEO, Greg Page, said earlier this month [April 2008] that “the dimensions of change in global agriculture are striking” and that the Minneapolis company is doing “an exceptional job measuring and assessing price risk.” He said world grain stocks are at their lowest level in 35 years.
(emphasis added)
Need Entrepreneurial Activity in Alternative Fuels
I’m amazed at how far behind we are in coming to a solution of our own energy crisis. As Americans, we are the most energy sucking people on the planet–far outpacing any other group.
“According to the Department of Energy’s most recent data on greenhouse gas emissions, in 2006 the U.S. emitted 5.8 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, or just under 20 tons per capita.”
WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB120934459094348617.html
While we probably think of our cars first, a real issue is our homes. The “always on” appliances and devices that are taking power even when we “don’t” use them.
“You can forget refrigerators, microwaves, clothes dryers and flat screen TVs. Even a house tricked out with all the latest high-efficiency EnergyStar appliances and compact fluorescent lights won’t come close. The same daunting energy math applies to the industrial, commercial and transportation sectors as well. The clear implication is that we shall have to replace virtually the entire fossil fuel electricity infrastructure over the next four decades with CO2-free sources – a multitrillion dollar proposition, if it can be done at all.”
WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB120934459094348617.html
Are cars are truly a big issue. But the proposed targets for 2050 are going to take huge changes.
“Right now our cars and trucks consume about 180 billion gallons of motor fuel. To meet the 2050 target, we shall have to limit consumption of gasoline to about 31 billion gallons, unless a genuine carbon-neutral liquid fuel can be produced. (Ethanol isn’t it.) To show how unrealistic this is, if the entire nation drove nothing but Toyota Priuses in 2050, we’d still overshoot the transportation emissions target by 40%.”
WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB120934459094348617.html
I’ve really got to take a deep look into what is happening in the entrepreneurial community to see if there is an opportunity for a marketing person.
Congratulations to my Friends at SCPR
One year anniversary party. Congratulations to Cheryl and the entire team.
Twitter vs. Blogging
I’ve been sucked into the black hole of Twitter. Because Twitter is so convenient and easy to communicate on, I’ve slacked here. I’ll be back to blogging.
Twitter is still interesting to me, but there is so much self promotion and people trying to figure out how to use the medium that it’s getting tiring. I do like keeping touch on people and their efforts. Personally, I need to use the medium to get more information back rather than shouting out.
Recent Videos and Marketing Power
I’m really happy that the video I produced for Footnote.com’s launch of the Interactive Vietnam Veterans Memorial has been well received. Footnote used the video to attract attention with “old media” newspaper and television companies. It was cool to see my video I created being used inside a news piece on MSNBC.
Guest on CouchCast
I joined Robert Merrill, Thom Allen, and Michael Reinbold to talk about the forming of Rocky Mountain Voices, social media, and the future of marketing via social mediums. I even go out on a limb and talk about how marketing agencies will rise to the occasion and excel at social media.
Thanks for including me on the CouchCast.
Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes
It would appear that the pollsters must have made it clear that the American people want change. This little video highlights just how committed the 2008 Presidential Candidates are to change [...sigh]. Of course I expect the change McCain would initiate is more troops in the Middle East and more military spending. Hillary…big shake ups — or is it a shake down.
Amazing Musician — Ukelele Picker Jake Shimabukuro
Tonight I was in my nightly ritual watching Conan O’Brien (you can watch Feb 19th show here). The guest musician was Jake Shimabukuro, a Japanese-America from Hawaii. Shimabukuro played one of my favorite George Harrison / White Album songs, While My Guitar Gently Weeps on his ukelele–yep, you are reading it correct.
Conan was blow away. I was blown away. Luckily we have iTunes today where I simply paid my $0.99 and added this great track to my music collection. Visit Shimabukuro’s destination on iTunes and take a listen to the sample. Better yet, just buy it.
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