Read Between the Ps

How would you describe the relationship between Advertiser and the Consumer? A romantic couple flirting with each other or an irritated couple not getting along at all, ready to separate.. A recent campaign on this " Break up ” personifies this very relationship, and wonderfully articulates the differences cropping between them. Have a look .. So, what exactly is the issue? - Agencies don’t realize that there is a problem and consumers don’t think that there is a solution to this problem – so most of them don’t speak up. It simply reflects in the results! The campaign, titled “ Bring the love Back ” addresses the first part of the issue – the disconnect between the consumer and the advertiser – how they do not get along, how the advertiser does not understand the consumer, how he simply assumes that what he is and what he is doing is simply the best, and cannot figure out why the consumer does not like it….and how all this culminates into their separation – their break-up ! The...

I have earlier discussed about Engagement marketing and Media Engagement in detail . Another facet of Engagement Marketing is Brand Engagement , which I briefly mentioned earlier. Just to recap, Brand Engagement is the last step of Engagement Marketing (From Media Engagement to Ad Engagement to Engagement Marketing to finally, Brand Engagement). It ensures sustainability and loyalty towards the advertised Brand. This happens when the messages and experiences blend into a combination culminating into a strong association with the brand per se, and not only the communication [ previous post ] An article at Marketing Profs “ Brand Engagement: Teach Your Customers Well ” by Nick Wreden , published last week focuses on a specific component of Brand Engagement – Brand Education and its various forms and methods. According to the article , Brand Engagement and Wikification have replaced previous models like “positioning” and have emerged as the “two great trends reshaping branding today” (as...

If you want to connect to your consumer, you need to talk to them in their language, using the tools they use, the forums they visit and communicate your differentiating point where it hits the most to them - in their own conditioned environment . Thanks to Martina ( Rocco Stallvord , actually) , I could identify yet another conditioned view that we come across more than a few times daily – Error 404 – Cannot find server ! Basically, the website of West Wayne Agency , the page first seems like the same error 404, but then when you refresh, you notice that the same page communicates something different – just like the URL tries to connect to the server, the consumer tries to connect to the brand – and this is what happens when he cannot find the connect… and he disconnects!! Solution? Have a look to what West Wayne suggests - call them people not consumers, and build a relationship with them... Interestingly, one thing I noticed what worked in favor of West Wayne for such a creativ...

Jason, from Centric , a media agency, had given an interesting perspective on the essentials of B2B branding , and certain misconceptions that marketers have, with regards to the techniques that qualify as B2B. In his post, The Key Failure of B2B Branding , Jason believes that most of the marketers consider B2B as a microcosm of B2C branding , and attempt to incorporate B2C marketing components in the B2B space, too. His innuendoes on how consumer marketers, specifically, Procter & Gamble has some of the strongest brands, are worth mentioning… "..if you throw tens of millions of dollars at promoting a product over a period of decades, of course it’ll have a strong brand. It’s been seen so many times that it’s become part of the culture. So yes, when you look at the strongest brands, they’re going to be consumer brands ." But where most of the marketers go wrong is when they take this understanding of “ successful branding ” and use the same recipe for their industrial br...

The latest edition of Harvard Business Review ( June 2007 ) has a small note on how employees can leverage technology to learn and revisit their company details and how companies, in turn, can leverage the same technology for internal branding . The article, Employees get an Earful , by Anders Gronstedt , talks about how employees, particularly salesmen, can either listen to podcasts or watch vodcasts (video podcasts) to get latest updates on their company, just before their meetings and calls. "At companies that use internal podcasting or vodcasting, employees don’t have to stop working to learn, and they can make productive use of their downtime. People can listen while driving to client meetings or watch while waiting in airports. For those who don’t mind blurring the line between free time and work, podcasts enable constructive intrusions into commuting, walking the dog, or running on the treadmill" According to the article, “ Portable media players, including video-enab...

A powerful & provocative ad that reflects upon the condition of the refugees , who are forced out of their homes . According to Spluch , The United Nations refugee agency is running a provocative international advertising campaign that employs shock tactics to raise awareness about its work and drum up public support for those who have been forced to flee their homes. The pro bono TV campaign, launched in Canada earlier this month and also running in about a dozen countries in Europe, South America and Africa, was created by the Toronto office of the BBDO advertising agency, said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which hopes the drive will help raise $1.8 million for the agency this year. Using shock tactics , this seemingly animated piece draws an analogy to the process of pulling a snail out its shell - the pain and the cruelty associated with it, and the disturbing site that ensues. Something to reflect upon. Commendable execution of the creative, a fine piece ...

Found an interesting perspective on what should marketers looking for a long-term marketing career invest in, to ensure that their businesses are sustainable and successful. John Jantsch , author of Duct Tape Marketing , recommends 3 imperatives for Long-term marketing - the 3 essential marketing practices required for producing results - the 3 Cs: Content, Connection and Community . Content - self-growth and increasing self-worth and market credibility. This could be done through blogs, white papers, workshops, articles, etc. Connection - personal relationships need to be reinforced to be leveraged subsequently - through co-creating experiences with them, by way of stories, training and other brand elements Community - a social network, that moves beyond personal relationships and penetrates into the local communities, and social circles. This can be done by way of investing time & money in social projects, get-togethers planned with clients, initiating and maintaining forums,...