Strategy

You may be familiar with the customer decision journey, if only how the idea relates to your own process of  hunting, gathering, weighing and measuring.  There have been some really interesting posts over the past 6-12 months discussing the evolution of the traditional sales funnel into a new framework that reflects information accessibility, technology ubiquity, and the manner in which our culture has rapidly shifted to actively seek and consume bits of media through myriad of channels.  Facing...

What's in a name?  Apparently, a lot.  Which has more appeal, the name "Plucky Pom" or "Anti-Ox Juice"?  Yes, I'll take my antioxidants, but I'm kinda intrigued by the idea of being plucky...hmmmm. And just how does a brand and its agency get there, to that Place Of Perfect Name?  Do brand managers know it when they hear it? The art of creativity I spent the first 16 years of my career at full-service agencies.  Of course, 15 years ago, "full service" had a different meaning than it does...

Aspirational, but not too I once spent several years servicing Iams Dog and Cat Foods, a Proctor & Gamble brand.  P&G is an amazing institution on a number of levels and the team I worked with earned my respect.  However, as with many super-large organizations, sometimes protocol, chain of command, and overwhelming self-preservation get in the way of advancing goals at a more practical pace.  Sometimes, two years would pass between an initial planning meeting (new product introduction,...

Reason #1:  There’s no attraction. Like any good relationship, a magnetic pull has to exist between consumer and brand.  Yes, the intensity of the pull may vary (you’d be surprised how strongly I feel about Land O’ Lakes butter and Pilot PreciseGrip pens, for crying out loud), but it has to be reciprocal and compelling.  Like it or not, most decisions are emotion-based. While you might evaluate a potential date by his intelligence or self-sacrificing nature and you might rate a friend...

What'd You Do *That* For? Sometimes marketing teams struggle to reach solutions to problems.  There could be a million reasons for the struggle, ranging from personal style or very different work experiences over to disparate points of view on the objectives and goals.  While there's tremendous value to having a mix of talent and styles on a team, the opportunity created by the mix may be diminished by a lack of cohesion, shared vision, and communication.  Does everyone know where they fit? ...

5 Lies Social Media { fill in the blank } Tell Their Clients "I've been doing this a long time." "Do you have anything new going on?  That's what we need to focus on." "It's okay that the folks in <xyz department> don't 'get' social media. We don't need them." "I can have <your brand> up and running in no time." "Once I've set everything up, its pretty minimal upkeep from there." First, the terms {"expert," "guru," "maven"} and the like just don't belong in a job title. ...

One of the things I love best about marketing communications is that a brand is never staid.  It moves, it flows. There's A lot To Consider. A brand's position is always evolving and even migrating within an organization and also in the minds of its customers.  There are line extensions, new formulations, and public mishandlings- these change the dynamics of things.  The forces and variables in play determining a brand's position (and ultimately, precipitating reactive responses and proactive...

Eating lunch out is a treat, a nice respite from your packed day and a way to gear down for awhile. But it comes with drawbacks and risks. It can take awhile to get back on track after a noontime detour. Distractions and diversions are like that; we all know that a Friday lunch date with pals means the afternoon is a sure bust. Maybe we subconsciously enable that PM decline. Bandwagon, Meet Your Passengers. Last week we talked about diner-style social media services, how a reputable agency seemed...

Gotta Speak the Language Last week, I was in Des Moines, IA attending a marketing conference sponsored by the Iowa Banker's Association titled "Blue Ribbon Banking: Marketing for Success."   At Ovation, we're considering our sales strategy for the bank vertical and this local conference provided good timing. My banking experience is limited to the typical consumer relationship, so I thought it particularly important to visit with bank marketers in hopes to better understand their pain points. ...

Tell Me Something I Don't Know, Already. The sentiment on the street remains cautious, conservative, and even scrappy. Businesses everywhere are feeling the shock waves which still reverberate from the crumbling financial and real estate empire which began 18 months ago. There's no arguing that belts have been tightened, expense reports and expansion plans scrutinized, and sacrifices made in the interest of staying protected, controlling cash flow, and mitigating exposure/risk. As consumers,...