InsightBlog

China! China! Get to know China!

Dear readers: just a little reminder about WHY we write this blog. Simply put, Insight303 is in business to help YOUR business. We want small agencies to succeed and we do everything in our power to arm you with what you need to win! So when we scour the trades and mass media for relevant news stories, we do so with the intention of bringing you insight on what you can do with the info. You might say we put general market news through the agency "human truths" filter. That's it, plain and simple, no hidden agendas. Our goal is to help you sell strategy to your clients...because when YOU sell strategy, it opens a door for us to do business together. So when YOU win, WE win. It's a beautiful thing. :)

So having said that, I can't say enough about this next topic: your agency needs to be paying attention to China! In case you've been living under a rock for the last year or so and haven't seen the news, TV, radio, or talked to another human being...China is arguably today's fastest-growing market. This means it has people - otherwise known as "consumers" - with tons of purchasing power, and it so happens, a penchant for brand name luxury goods. I'll say it again. It's EMERGING people! You may have heard my rant about the ad industry following trends and being generally slow on the uptake, so I'll spare you that...but I will tell you that if your agency isn't already intimately knowledgable about China, you need to be. Soon.

I know, not everyone has a client launching into or already in the China marketplace. But to be sure, just like speaking Spanish 20 years ago, knowing China by understanding its culture and people and having at least a basic awareness of the marketplace is a body of knowledge you don't want to be caught without 5 years from now.

The latest agency to make a move to keep pace with what's happening in China is AKQA, who made the move to ready for the 2008 Olympics. In addition, R/GA, and RGA/Razorfish have also opened offices in China recently.

So what can you do if you're not ready to open an outpost quite yet? A few ideas:

- Get to know the Chinese marketplace - understand the major companies, recent M&As, and who they're importing / exporting with
- Understand the Chinese consumer - there are tons of commissioned studies that you can buy or download free. Here's a good one you can buy if you have $3K burning a hole in your pocket, or access for free slightly dated research.
- Read how other companies have designed studies to educate themselves about China and seize market opportunity.

Whatever your method, you need to get to know China. STAT!

Voting season is in full swing!

This one is from Brand Channel who is running their annual Reader's Choice Awards to select the peoples' favorite brand of 2006. Vote here if you'd like.
We especially like that they allow write-ins and make it a point to mention that personal brands count, too. You know I'll be writing in the InsightGrrls for my #1 pick :)

Word-of-mouth conference

For their upcoming conference in December WOMMA is holding open six slots on the agenda for sessions created by marketers like you. It’s being called the YouSessions...umm, because you submit an idea for a session and then you vote for the sessions you want to see at the conference (get it?). The six sessions receiving the most votes will be scheduled into the WOMMA Summit 2 Conference agenda.

You have until Saturday, October 28 to submit your session idea. Voting opens on Monday, October 30 and closes on Friday. November 10. For more info and to submit a session idea go here.

House parties for brands

We like this one: companies like Aerosoles, Jockey, and AT&T have brought brand loyalty to new heights, paying their best customers to introduce their friends to the brands' products in the privacy and comfort of their own homes. The idea, like most good ideas, is not new - companies like Tupperware and Mary Kay have been using the strategy successfully forever - but these brands have the power to bring it mainstream. As the Brandweek article points out, the reach of such parties is very limited - but we think the idea could work for smaller marketers with smaller budgets - i.e. your local pizza joint giving a bunch of pizzas away to one of their best customers on the premise they'd invite friends that hadn't tried before with hopes of getting them to come in on their own. The pizza shop could offer coupons for the next visit and incentives to host your own pizza party. Okay, if that's too hokey, try the idea out on your own clients...do you have a local business or retailer that could benefit from having more brand advocates? We thought so. A house party might be something to test in your clients '07 plans. Food for thought.

BTW, since we mentioned it, Mary Kay Ash is one of our most favorite (and underplayed) personal brands. More than just a pretty face in a pink suit, she was indeed a force to be reckoned with in the boardroom and shared her success freely to support women's cancer research and combat domestic violence.

Happy Monday!

Keep your blogs transparent!

We've been following the press about the latest blog-troversy. As you've probably heard by now, the blog "Walmarting Across America" was not started by two random Americans but in fact, it was a carefully constructed media ploy designed by WalMart's PR Agency.

Between the two of us we know of several other "consumer-written" blogs that have been started by well-meaning agencies - Edelman's tactic is certainly not a new one. Those others slid by undetected just months ago, but with blogging fast becoming a ubiquitous strategy to broaden a brand's reach there's a new focus on who is writing and what is being written. As you know, the first rule of branding is authenticity - and this applies to not only your brand values, but how you express them as well. Kudos to Edelman for trying to battle WalMart's sullied reputation in the marketplace...but ouch! - what a monumental backfire.

Read what other bloggers are saying about the misstep.

Brands Heart Celebs

Have you noticed the rash of celeb/brand marriages lately? Three rather high-profile ones:
- Diddy+Burger King
- JayZ+Anheuser-Bush
- Carmen Electra+MasterCard

It got us thinking about the brand benefits for all in a marriage of this sort. The individual gets to express his brand to a wider audience and enjoys the added credibility that being associated with the Big Brand brings. The Big Brand gets the benefit of extending into audiences they might not have reached otherwise, and in this case, all three deals have the brand targeting an audience that leads trends in cool. These kinds of deals are key in reaching the coveted 18-34 y.o. audience that simply can't be reached by traditional media.

But, what about the backlash from those that consider themselves Brand Loyalists to the individual and don't buy-in to "their" celeb partnering with brands when the marriage is perceived to be one of marketing convenience? There are certainly legions of vocal fans protesting the Diddy/BK union. We wonder if JayZ will be as controversial, since the product he's promoting (beer) has just a slightly different image than fast food. As for Carmen Electra promoting MasterCard? That's something I think 99.9% of us would agree is a revenue pure-play for brand Carmen. Thoughts?

Al Gore's personal brand expressed

Readers, I'm late to the game, I admit: Al Gore launched his television station, Current, eons ago, but I only just made it up to the 200s on my cable box this weekend to see it for the first time. In our personal brand workshops we spend a lot of time talking about creative ways to express your brand. Blogs, publishing articles and whitepapers, and speaking at local events always rise to the top...but a TV station? This is such an incredible expression of a personal brand, it's inspirational! The best thing: Al's station features user-generated content - everything is created by viewers, the world over. This weekend I watched a segment on a custom shoe manufacturer in Germany, which was interspersed with viewer-created ads...so, forget about throwing away your b-roll footage or that artsy piece you shot in the subway...make it into an ad and send it in to Al!

Here's an interesting blog from a guy who designed a version of the channel's logo. For you art directors, it includes some interesting design commentary. I just love how the station truly lives its promise to involve users every step of the way...they truly couldn't exist without their audience!

The channel's viewership is 18-34 year olds, but, like MySpace, something tells me there are aspirational viewers on both ends of that age range.

Keith Ferrazzi strikes again...

This time, Keith recommended to Brandweek that companies create a new position, VP of HTM - High Touch Marketing. The position would focus soley on creating and nurturing long-term relationships with customers, vs. casting a wide net in prospecting for new ones.

A CEO of a very cool, boutique agency in Seattle recently told me that his strategy to build client relationships is just this: to court PEOPLE, rather than COMPANIES. His rationale? Marketing directors tend to change jobs fairly regularly - and even though they might not have need for a new agency at one place, chances are they will at another. And, even if they don't change jobs, marketing folks are notorious for (at least these) two things: being superior networkers and placing high value on brand loyalty. So, developing strong personal relationships with a group of key marketing professionals is a good strategy for building your client roster organically and efficiently.

Keith's recent article deals with organizing this job into one position that reports directly to the CEO. I can see it now: breakfasts, and lunches, and drinks, oh my!

All joking aside, in a time where agency-client relationships are tenuous at best, it seems like a worthy addition to agency staff and certainly one that could justify itself financially with one or two big wins. Of course, you could argue that it's the job of new business, and you'd be right...but if you have the luxury of adding another FTE to staff - one that could focus entirely on people - it would surely free up these folks to focus on business strategy, competitive intelligence, and getting the pitch decks in order.

BTW, this is perhaps my most ideal job, so if any of you seriously consider it, let's talk. Seriously.

Stacy

Annual State of Branding Survey

Brand Channel and InterBrand are conducting their annual study on brands, the State of Branding Survey. The results will be released in January and I'm sure will be ones that we all quote in pitches, client meetings, etc. As branding professionals, our opinions matter...so take a few minutes out to contribute yours.

What do diet soda and calorie-burning sparkling green tea have in common?
Well now that you've asked...they both are brought to you by Coca-Cola.

What the &^%@>> are you talking about you ask? Well it's true. Drink three cans of Enviga and you can lose an average of 106 calories. This is the promise Coca-Cola is making in regards to its new line of sparkling green teas launching next month, according to Brand Week.

I can think of a lot of things to wax poetic on this issue, but the two main ones that come to mind are 1) what's a company - whose main goal has been to refresh our parched pallets primarily with carbonated beverages - doing making what amounts to a "drug" of sorts aimed at burning calories and by extension getting into the weight loss business? and 2) do we as consumers give them permission to go there? Are they believable in this area? Do we give them license to burn our fat?

Clearly, the company is addressing a key societal issue. Today, taking about weight issues and obesity, specifically, as an epidemic in our nation is the new black.

According to NewsTarget the diet industry was a hefty $46.3 billion and is projected to tilt the scale at $61 billion by 2008 and Coca-Cola wants their share of it. Coca-Cola plans to develop marketing messages that will position Enviga as a “delicious, refreshing sparkling green tea proven to burn calories,” said Deborah Roberts, senior brand manager Enviga, Coca-Cola North America. What the ^^%#@@? Are we buying this? Really people, let me know.

Coca-Cola says their drink is the real deal. “When they see the science behind it and the claims are not just pulled out of a hat, I hope they’ll use this as the benchmark to judge other products. There are a lot of products out there [making promises]. ”One such product is Celsius calorie-burning soda created by a Delray Beach, Fla., company, which is currently available in five different flavors.

Somehow this just smells like marketing to me. I don't believe for a second that Coke cares about my health. They're just pissed off that there is another brand out there making money from the diet craze and is determined to use their marketing might to put an end to it. So... the question is: how far should a brand stretch its image in the name of the almighty dollar???. I for one will give Starbucks license to sell CDs and books with my coffee. But carbonated-sugary soda and a calorie burning green tea from Coke...not so much. Tell me I'm wrong!!

Faith

What makes ads engaging?

Leo Burnett, CanWest MediaWorks, and The Ideas Research Group just completed a study on engagement in Canada. The purpose of their research was to explore consumers' engagement with ads - tv, print, etc. - and to discover what makes people actually stop and take notice of said ads. The study used multiple methods to gather data - here is one of the more interesting things they did:

"We armed people with digital cameras and had them take pictures for a week of advertising they noticed and found engaging. We let them define advertising and engagement themselves to truly understand what was engaging to them.

Conclusion: Engagement seemed to be driven by several factors, which we group as "Conditions," "Context" and "Content."

Conditions include pre-existing brand interest. People are more likely to notice an ad if they have used that brand before, or if they have enjoyed communications from it before, or if they are in the market for that product/service.

Context includes what else they were doing, where the ad was located, whether it interrupted them or whether they chose it.

Content is driven not by the message of the ad, but by how it made them feel. People noticed ads that had humor, were thought-provoking, made them feel intelligent, that were beautiful/aesthetically pleasing, were surprising, had depth and different layers of meaning, made them feel important, gave them something to talk about with friends/family, and even sometimes had elements that made them feel negative. This is why we call it content - because effective advertising seemed to fulfill the same human needs that media does.

What is interesting is that across all three factors, engagement is driven by people's own situation and feelings, rather than by messaging. People are more likely to notice things that fulfill their needs and add value to their lives. This is not to say that messaging is unimportant, but that messaging by itself is not enough."

While this is not new information, it's a good reminder that advertising creative in and of itself does not drive customer interaction and increase brand awareness or affinity. The only way we can achieve our brand loyalty goals is by meeting consumers on their terms - finding them in magazines they read, tv they watch, websites they frequent, and presenting ads to them in a way that complements what they're doing, not distracts from it. But, in order to reach them, we need to first understand them. Focus groups, interviews, shop-a-longs, ethnographies - these are all good and valuable ways to do so...and because of the plethora media choices available to consumers today, "guessing" is no longer an option.

We've said it before and we'll keep saying it: customer insight is an absolute necessity that should drive both creative development and media selection.

Thanks to our friends up north for this useful reminder.

You can read the full study here

What's all this hype about a brand image?

This week the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that Coach is suing Target for selling "faux" Coach bags in their stores. Target says that the bags are the real deal and that they have confirmed their authenticity.

Clearly the issue of whether the bags are faux or genuine is a big deal, however, the thing that Coach is even more annoyed about is that fact that their brand image is being compromised by being associated with the discount retailer such as the Target brand. Target's spokeswoman, Carolyn Brookter, said, "Target has procedures in place to ensure that we do not sell counterfeit products to our guests." According to the Strib, this is not the first time that Coach and Target have gotten in a tug of war about purses. Coach recently complained that some of Target's private label handbags are too closely similar to the Coach design. Now doubt this drama will continue, but it raises an issue that we talk about in our Personal Branding seminars--which is about being authentic to your brand.

Coach has a well defined brand essence and clearly they will take it to the mat to ensure that their brand image remains true and consistent. This is a clear example of the importance of branding. Coach has spent millions of dollars establishing their brand and are not about to let that brand image be diluted --at any cost. One point of negative brand impression quickly translates to millions of dollars in lost revenue. Coach understands that a successful brand must remain true to its personality and the relationship that its consumers have come to expect. And while Target is a distinctive brand in its own right--Coach is saying loud and clear that there will be no consorting of an kind.

We should all take a page from the Coach brand play book and remain resolved to express our own personal brand in its truest and most authentic form.

Crate and Barrel's Ad Sharing

Crate and Barrel has posted two new spots from its fall campaign on its website for all to watch. The spots in themselves are very nice - lighthearted yet elegant, like the brand itself - with very clear and concise messages about entertaining and gifting. What I really like about the idea though, is that not only can you watch the spots from their homepage but C&B has provided a clickable list of products featured in the ads right below so you can easily purchase the featured products.
An advertiser offering up its advertising to its customers makes one feel conencted to the brand...and furthering that connection with a convenience that makes it easy to purchase featured products goes a step further to connect customer with brand.

I found out about the ads because C&B sent me an email telling me they were there. I wasn't annoyed by it, just intrigued, as it was the first time I've seen an advertiser promote its own ads. The interesting thing is that I'm not an active C&B customer! I purchase from them once a year - holidaytime - and never for myself. Nonetheless, I trust that at one point I agreed to get emails from them and that is how I ended up on their list. I wonder if their loyal and active customers got a different email this time.

In any event, I think it's a courageous attempt to get customers to buy into advertising and, since the ads were done well, I came away feeling positive about the brand. I like that they're using "say it in black and white" as a theme to associate their distinctive packaging with the brand, and hitting at the personal expression involved in housewares.

See the ads for yourself on C&B's website.

Does size matter?

Brandweek today ran an article about marketers that contained - among lots of other content - a quote from Baruch College professor Robb Hecht, who said: "The power of brands is what attracts people to marketing. Most marketers want to work on the biggest brands, brands [with sales] the size of some countries' gross national products. Many marketers, once behind the dashboard of driving a brand, feel the power of the reach of a brand."

While I can see validity in his point, particularly when looking at it from the client-side, I wonder where agency folks weigh in? For instance, we've been privileged to work on some large brands(think IBM and GM) - but equally happy to work on very small emerging brands that you've probably never heard of (and that's okay; the nature of these assignments was speculative for the agencies involved - often, these types of accounts are sought out for their willingness to draw outside the lines with creative and media).

It got us wondering about you, our readers, who work at small and mid-sized agencies. Why do you choose to work on smaller accounts in smaller markets? Is it the challenge that motivates you? The necessity of realizing champagne dreams on a beer budget?

What's your motivation? We'd love to hear your thoughts.

Read the story here.