A marketing miracle

By now, we've all seen this video of the amazing stunt marketing event from the Canadian Airline, WestJet.



Actually 19 million people have viewed it directly on Youtube, more on social media channels and millions upon millions have read about it thanks to all the press its garnered in just the week since it was posted.

How did they achieve such success?

Let's start with the concept. It's big. No, not just big, huge. I can barely get the shopping done for my family in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Buying Christmas gifts for 250 people in just a few hours is a massive undertaking.

It was executed perfectly.

Starting with Santa on video gathering wishes, to the army of employees who were sent to do the shopping to the decorations around the baggage carousel, they nailed every detail. It was magical from start to finish.

This effort was clearly genuine, heartfelt and relevant, promoting the company's real differentiator, service.

The result is that for less than the cost of producing a national TV commercial, WestJet was able to create international fame. This is an incredible marketing achievement that is sure to be honored at Cannes and every other advertising festival next year.

The question is, how can they take the momentum from this event and use it to build their business in the coming year? Their brand now stands for 'miracles' and they have to deliver on that promise on a regular basis, maybe not with grand stunts like this, but little gestures that demonstrate how much they care about their passengers. Otherwise, this big event is just marketing and all the energy it created will be drained as quickly as the batteries in a child's toy on Christmas morning.

I'm assuming that a company smart enough to create and execute this event knows that. So I'm looking forward to seeing what they do next.

Why should I care?

You might have a product. You might have a name, a logo, some ads, promotions, a PR campaign and social media strategy.

None of that guarantees you have a brand.

Brands exist solely in the minds of people who care about the products or services they represent. 

If people aren't thinking about your brand – if people don't care about your brand – you don't have a brand.

So when you set out to build your brand, don't just give people a reason to believe. 

Give them a reason to care.

Gimmicks do not sell cars

When I saw this article in Ad Age, I had just one reaction. Ugh, aren't we over this yet?

Crowdsourcing ads makes about as much sense as do-it-yourself heart surgery.

The agency loses because these campaigns devalue the very product they're selling: strategic creativity.

99.99% of all participants lose because, of the thousands who will spend hours and hours generating ideas and producing materials without compensation to enter in the competition, only one will be chosen.

The client loses because instead of having the agency spend time uncovering insights and developing ideas to build the Chevy brand and sell cars, they're knee deep in consumer-generated garbage trying to find a few gems.

I have only one question about the campaign:

How does having aspiring film makers create a commercial on the Oscars lead to higher sales?

If the answer includes the words engagement, community, conversation, advertainment or any of the thousands of other social media buzzwords, you might want to start working on a new idea.

And the winner is...

The oh so ridiculously named Cannes International Festival of Creativity – formerly the Cannes Advertising Festival – got underway yesterday and this year's first winner is actually very creative.

Developed to help reduce the number of deaths around railroad tracks in Australia, "Dumb Ways To Die" is a campaign does everything great marketing is supposed to do.

It's disruptive.

It's memorable.

It's engaging.

It's shareable.

And best of all it's effective, reducing deaths by 21% last year.

The campaign starts with a great insight: nobody likes to be lectured to. That's what most public safety campaign do. Don't drink and drive. Wear your seatbelt. Don't smoke. Stop drinking 64-ounce sodas. All of these campaigns have one strategy; they nag, nag, nag – to the point where nobody listens anymore.

Starting with a perky happy pop melody and lyrics that are dark and disturbed, this video is impossible to ignore or forget.



Not satisfied with nearly 50 million views YouTube views. The campaign's creators worked hard to get the song played on local radio. They created a karaoke version that people have used as a foundation for their own videos. They printed coloring books and built a smartphone game for kids. And of course, they produced this fun, interactive and informative website.

It's the rare smart campaign that prevents humans from doing dumb things.

The Greatest Spectacle in Marketing

I spent this past weekend in Indianapolis as a guest of HP. During my 48 hours there I got an inside look at how HP products are used to help DreamWorks produce its upcoming film "Turbo" about a snail who dreams of racing in the Indy 500. I was also able to interview Kate Swanborg, DreamWorks Head of Enterprise Marketing, see some previously unreleased scenes from the movie and hear directly from her why HP is such a great partner.

That was after spending the day with HP's Indy car team in their garage watching them use HP products to prepare their car for 500. Oh, and somewhere in between I was given a complete overview of HPs new wireless printing systems and drove their HP Workstation-powered racing simulator at the HP Pavilion in the Indy 500 FanZone.

In addition to that, had I been so inclined during my day at the track I could have sampled 5-hour Energy Drinks; gone on a Chevrolet test drive; tested printer, camera, tablet and apps from Crayola, Samsung, Verizon and others; amassed a small collection of commemorative posters; and seen Brett Michaels' in concert to promote his new tv show about over-the-top RVs.

If you want to see marketing's ultimate showcase of hand-to-hand combat, get to Indy next year for the 500.

But make sure you carve out a few hours on Sunday afternoon, I hear there's a race that's usually worth watching.

Pack attack

If I were in charge of the economic development department in my adopted home state, I'd be worried. Wisconsin's image is about to take another hit.

No, we haven't produced another Jeffrey Dahmer. Nor have the protests reignited around the capitol.

It's even worse.

TBS has just green-lighted a reality show called Cheeseheads in hopes of doing for Wisconsin what Duck Dynasty and Swamp People have done for the state of Louisiana.

Here's how TBS describes the show in their press release:

“Green Bay, Wis., is home to the World Famous Green Bay Packers and their fans: The Cheeseheads. These citizens don’t just bleed green and gold; they eat victory for breakfast. For them, being a Cheesehead is more than just being a fan. It's a way of life. This show will take viewers into the hilarious subculture through the eyes of a group of proud Wisconsinites as they navigate life in the only way they know how – loud, proud and with lots of beer. For these folks, there is no off-season.’’

And here's a video release of some of the auditions.

Having been to more than a few Packers games over the past 20 years, I have met my share of Cheeseheads. I know they are a part of the Wisconsin culture. I also know they're really nice people and a hell of a lot of fun.

But if you're trying to sell Wisconsin as a place where sophisticated, 21st century, high-tech businesses can find the workers they need to succeed in a global economy, your job just got a whole lot harder.

Hacking up a brand

It's all fun and games until somebody gets hurt... or loses billions of dollars.

People used to talk about the web in utopian terms as a source of pure information, unfiltered by the biases of editorial boards in the news media. Then something like this happens.

Now it's a source of pure disinformation, spreading rumors, innuendos and lies faster than pictures of Anthony Weiner's weiner.

If you're not ready for this new world, too bad. It's here. Deal with it.

1. If you have accounts monitor them constantly. As the AP hacking proved, waiting just a few minutes to react can be devastating.
2. If you aren't on social media, monitor your brands to make sure no one is using your name in vain.
3. Have a plan in place for when your accounts are compromised or a fake account is created in your name.
4. Don't leave your social media efforts to interns. It must be in the hands of people you trust.
5. While one person should be directing your social media efforts several should have access in case your primary contact is unavailable or – and yes, it happens – the source of the malfeasance.

Digital communications are powerful tools. They can be used to create great value for a company. But they can destroy your reputation even faster if they're not managed professionally. And even then, bad things happen.

Good luck. 

It's not the medium. It's the message.

There's a lot of fighting going on these days between social media activists, traditional media apologists and data geeks who can dig so deep into numbers they guarantee you'll strike it rich if you listen to them.

Here's the secret dirty little secret that none of them will tell you. The best media plan in the world is worthless if the creative is invisible.

Conversely, any medium that's seen or heard by the right person can be effective if it's carrying a great idea.

TV still works when you run spots like this.

Social media works when you create posts like this.

PR works when you create campaigns like this.

If you want to make sure your media dollars aren't being wasted, don't worry so much about where you're running and spend more time thinking about what you're running.

JWT India goes rogue

Every creative at every agency has one, a file filled with ideas that were killed at one point or another by a creative director, account director or client. Most of us have the good sense never to share those ideas with the outside world.

Such was not the case with some staffers at JWT India who decided share these offensive ad comps with Ads of the World in an effort to show how creative they are.

Oops.

Now the team at Ford has a full-fledged PR crisis on their hands, JWT global executives are bending over backwards to try to save the account, and the people who thought this was a good idea are deservedly on the street looking for new jobs.

The fact that they spent the time and money to hire a professional illustrator to create the comps leads me to believe that someone at a senior level in the creative department approved these "ideas." I'm not sure if they ever made it to the client, but somewhere along the way, this concept was rightfully killed and should never have seen the light of day.

The advertising business – thanks to its fascination with youth – has always attracted people who feel their talent and creativity entitle them to privileges well beyond their years, that their inflated titles and meteoric rise make them smarter than everyone else in the room. It's that attitude that leads to events like this.

Advertising is about creating memorable messages to support and build a client's brand. That requires creativity, maturity and judgement. Unfortunately it appears that no one in the creative department at JWT India has any of those qualities.

In an update, this article by Ad Age suggests that not only did people at the highest levels of JWT India know about these ads, but so did someone at the client who had to sign a document stating that the ads were real before they could be entered in a local awards show. My guess is more people will be losing their jobs very soon.

More of the same

Well, that was fast.

Commonwealth is no more. Goodby is leaving Detroit. And McCann now controls 100% of the Chevrolet business in the U.S. and around the world.

This news is not that surprising. In fact, it was inevitable once Joel Ewanick and GM parted ways.

The only question that needs to be answered now is, "Will the work get better?"

Chevrolet marketing and advertising has been suffering through a miserable dry spell. Nothing created by either agency was particularly effective or memorable. Even with a new Malibu, Sonic, Cruz and Spark, Chevrolet is selling fewer cars this year than both Toyota and Ford.

Will having all the work consolidated under McCann change that?

We shall see.

What I do know is that GM needs to settle its marketing and advertising issues quickly so it can concentrate on the business of selling cars.

Yes, it's our fault

The trouble with academics is they occasionally confuse correlation with causation.

That's the case in this study in which researchers have determined that food advertising causes obesity.

Food advertising, when done well drives preference and purchase intent. What causes obesity is consumption, specifically over-consumption and a diet that includes too many unhealthy options.

A billboard for a Big Mac Extra Value meal doesn't make people fat. The fact that some choose to make it a staple of their diet makes them fat.

A commercial for Mountain Dew doesn't make people fat. The fact that many people in urban neighborhoods don't have access to grocery stores makes them fat.

A coupon for Palermo's Pizza doesn't make people fat. The fact that a two-toed sloth is more active and burns more calories than most people, makes them fat.

There are a lot of contributing factors to the deteriorating health and increasing waistlines of the American people. Food advertising is the least of them. 

Unfortunately it's the easiest target.

Kohl's gets caught

Somebody at Kohl's has some 'splaining to do.

On the right is the logo and poster for the indie band, Yacht.

On the left is a t-shirt Kohl's is selling.

This ain't no coincidence folks.

I have news for the designer who "created" this shirt, changing three words from the work of another doesn't make it original. It's time to start looking for a new job, if not a new career.

To the higher ups at Kohl's, if you want to do the right thing before the lawyers get involved, pay the band the profits from this shirt and a little something extra to show you're sincere. I'd recommend you do it in person in front of thousands of their fans at the Treefort Music Festival in Boise Idaho on the 23rd of this month at 7:00. 

It might be a good idea.

Watered down advertising

While Anheuser-Busch fights charges in state courts across the country that it has been watering down its beer, it's waging a much more important battle in the court of public opinion.

If round one is any indication, they may want to pick a new strategy.

The ad on the right, which appeared this weekend in the New York Times and Houston Chronicle where stories appeared, is, ahem, weak tea.

The visual only reinforces the charges in the suit. Yes, the copy talks about all the water A-B donates to the American Red Cross, but we all know most people don't read the copy. If they do, however, it leaves so many unanswered questions – like why is A-B talking about water? – that people may actually go looking for the story.

Bud shouldn't ignore the story. In fact, on the PR side they're saying the right thing through their VP of brewing and supply: 

"The claims against Anheuser-Busch are completely false, and these lawsuits are groundless. We proudly adhere to the highest standards in brewing our beers, which have made them the best-selling in the U.S. and the world."

It's easy to get too clever in ads like this. Now is not the time for clever. Now is the time to clearly state that nothing is more important to the company than the quality of its products and that you would never do anything to jeopardize that.

Unless, of course, you are.

The power of love and hate

In an attempt to reignite the fire that grew the sport to unprecedented popularity in the 90s and 2000s,  NASCAR has hired Ogilvy NY and launched a new ad campaign.



As someone who spent a lot of time at Daytona as creative director for Chevrolet motor sports back in the late 80s, I applaud the effort. The drivers and their personalities are the sport. As nice as the campaign is, I don't, however, expect it to have a whole lot of short-term impact on either race attendance or viewership.

That having been said, I expect this weekend's Daytona 500 to do incredible numbers for one reason: Danica.

She's the lightning rod. The driver who is both beloved and hated at the same time. For the detractors, her fame far outstrips her talent and the opportunities she's been given. For her fans, she's battled the old boy network every step of the way and achieved success in spite of the obstacles. After a few lackluster finishes running a partial schedule last year, she was in danger of becoming irrelevant.

All that changed in 45.817 seconds.

Danica winning the pole at Daytona is not just news, it's the story NASCAR needed to get back on the radar. It gives those who love her a reason to crow and those who hate her a reason to get their bile up a little more. It also gives a lot of other people who don't particularly care about racing a reason to watch.

NASCAR thrives on love/hate relationships. It succeeds when its stars clash. It's better when the young guns antagonize the old guard. It's a sport that's powered by stories, not gasoline.

For their sake, I hope they put on a good show this weekend because thanks to Danica, the world will be watching.

Just a bit off the mark

Here's a tough one.

You make a product that's hot. So hot that you can't keep up with demand given current capacity. You have a choice, alter the product in an almost imperceptible way so you can stretch your supply or leave sales on the table. Maker's Mark choose the former and the outcry was as loud as it was predictable.

After sales increases of 14% in 2011 and 15% in 2012, last week it was announced the Beam Inc. super premium bourbon brand would lower the alcohol content of its product from 90 to 84 proof in order to have enough to meet the burgeoning demand. While they claim there was no discernable difference in taste, regular Maker's drinkers saw it as an attempt to "water down" the product. They shared their displeasure with the decision through Twitter, Facebook and email and within days Bill Samuels Jr., the Chairman Emeritus of Maker's Mark reversed the decision.

So why didn't Maker's do what other companies do when demand exceeds supply and just raise the price? Beam uses the popularity of Maker's as leverage to get distributors and retailers to carry its other brands like Basil Hayden's, Booker's, Bakers, Knob Creek, Laphroaig, Connemara, Ardmore, Effen, Sauza and more.

In essence they're saying, "You can't have our most desirable product, unless you carry a full line of our other products."

It's a good strategy until you kill the lead dog and the rest of the pack has no one to follow.

So what could Beam have done? It takes six years to make a batch of Makers at its current strength so they can't distill more and have it on the shelf tomorrow. In this era of social media and transparency making the change unannounced would have been a flat-out disaster.

In this case the best course would be to take the long view and build the business through a combination of activities. First, increase production capacity so in six years Maker's can meet the global demand. Second, select other bourbon or spirit brands from the portfolio and invest in them, creating additional leverage points with distributors. Given the fickle nature of trends in this business, that strategy also has the added benefit of providing options if and when consumer tastes change. While there's no guarantee of creating a blockbuster like Maker's out of the other brands, at least they wouldn't be devaluing any of them.

Ultimately the lesson here is: more sales aren't always good sales.

Tesla fails the test

There's an old saying that goes, "Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel."

As Elon Musk is finding out, it's now "Never pick a fight with anyone on the internet"

If you're not aware, New York Times reporter, John Broder recently drove a Tesla S from Washington, D.C. to Milford, Connecticut. Unfortunately the drive did not go as planned. What followed was a less than glowing story about the journey, a data-filled diatribe by Mr. Musk accusing the reporter of sabotaging the test, and the reporter's response to Musk's allegations.

Defending yourself is one thing. Providing data that supports your claims is okay. But questioning the integrity of the author of the complaint, whether it's a reporter for the New York Times or a songwriter from Canada will only result in the story growing and bad publicity expanding.

I don't know why the Tesla did not perform as the company's published data would lead you to expect, but I doubt very seriously that John Broder set out with the intent of trashing the car. After all, this is the New York Times, the "left-wing media elite" that its critics claim has a pro-government, anti-big business slant. You'd think they'd be all for an underdog entrepreneur like Elon Musk who's fighting big oil.

What I do know is that Mr. Musk's response is costing him. If he really believes the test was conducted unfairly, then offer to repeat it. Do it with three cars not just one. Prove them wrong.

Or if there's a problem, fix it.

Accusing your accuser of lying won't make the story go away.

Florida and its manufactured identity crisis

The Gap. Starbucks. Best Buy. American Airlines. Kraft. They've all been criticized for recent logo redesigns.

So is it any surprise that when Enterprise Florida, the group charged with promoting business in the state, unveiled this new logo, controversy ensued.

Why?

You guessed it.

The necktie is of course more commonly associated with businessMEN than businessWOMEN thus the logo is sexist.

Now, if you subscribe to the theory that any publicity is good publicity, then this is a stroke of genius. The "sexist logo" story has been picked up by every business newspaper, website and television network, allowing Enterprise Florida to reinforce facts like the state ranks 4th in the nation in the number of women-owned businesses.

I'm not a woman and I rarely wear a tie, so I don't pretend to know how this logo makes female business owners feel. But I do know this after 30 years of helping companies develop their brands and establish identities: if you unveil a new logo, someone is going to hate it.

You might as well be prepared to use the controversy to help build your brand. Whether by luck or design, the marketing people at Enterprise Florida are doing just that.

Oh, just for the record, I hate this logo. Not because I think it's sexist, but because it's ugly.

Haiti doesn't have a marketing problem

Talk about a tough challenge.

After multiple national disasters, being a hot spot for the global AIDS epidemic, rampant disease caused by insufficient sanitary systems, several corrupt governments, Haiti wants you to come visit.

That's right, while driving last night I heard this story on NPR in which Haiti's Tourism Minister explains the virtues of her country for vacationers.

I have no doubt that Haiti is a beautiful island. I have no doubt that the weather can be amazing. I have no doubt that the island has a rich cultural heritage and important historical monuments.

What I do doubt is how safe it is to visit.

Now, I'm not averse to risking a little danger for the sake of entertainment. I spent more than a few evenings of my young adult life in clubs below 8-Mile. But I'm guessing, most tourists would prefer a destination where their chances of being kidnapped or killed are just a bit lower.

Haiti has a lot of things to recommend it, but I'm guessing until they fix the roads, add some hotel rooms, improve the sanitary conditions and can guarantee the safety of those who visit, no amount of marketing will suddenly have people flocking to the island.

What Haiti is about to find out is what most marketers already know: the most important thing you can do to improve your marketing is to get the product right.

CBS can't stop progress

CNET, the powerhouse digital publication for all things tech, released its "Best of CES" last week and one of the nominees was the Dish Hopper with Sling, the auto ad-skipping DVR from Dish Network... until it wasn't.

If you visit their Nominee Page now and scroll down to the very bottom you get this statement:

The Dish Hopper with Sling was removed from consideration due to active litigation involving our parent company CBS Corp. We will no longer be reviewing products manufactured by companies with which we are in litigation with respect to such product.

If anyone ever wondered about the impartiality of the press, wonder no more.

Clearly someone at CBS said to the publisher of CNET, "Hey, these guys are trying to break our business model. You can't give them an award." And the publisher of CNET, liking his job very much, said "No problem."

By making CNET pull its nomination, CBS is now allowing the Hopper to play a role in the erosion of two of its businesses. Not only is the Hopper a threat to the ad-supported revenue model the network was built on, but its sudden exclusion from the Best of CES list brings into question the most important asset CNET has, its editorial integrity.

Millions of people have trusted CNET for what was believed to be impartial reviews of technological gadgetry. I used it last week when deciding which new television to buy. Yet, if its editorial independence can be so easily undermined by those on the business side of the publication, how can anyone trust anything they write?

CBS needs to stop trying to make time stand still and begin to create a new reality in which traditional advertising and appointment viewing are no longer the be-all-and-end-all of network television. Pulling petty, vindictive stunts like this hurts their brands much more than it will slow the advance of technology that is coming whether they like it or not.

Branding is not an objective

As someone who has been a "brand practitioner" for more than twenty five years, there's one thing I've learned.

Branding is bunk.

Why?

Because most people get it backwards. They think "if we build an amazing brand, people will love our product." In truth its the other way around.

Build an amazing product and people will fall in love with your brand.

When you think about branding this way, it changes things.

No longer will you build elaborate marketing campaigns designed to create a strong emotional bond between a prospect and your brand (something that's nearly impossible). Instead you'll build marketing campaigns designed to get prospects to try your product (something that's a lot easier).

If your product is good enough people will bond with your brand based on their experience.

No amount of marketing will make people fall in love with a mediocre product.

Does that mean you shouldn't know what your brand stands for? You shouldn't have a concise, consistent promise? You shouldn't tell your story in a unique and differentiating way? You shouldn't weave that into every aspect of your company from customer service to R&D to sales to marketing?

Of course not.

It's just that so many "marketing professionals" have substituted those activities for actual marketing objectives.

Branding is not an objective. It's a strategy.

Your advertising, social media, promotions, PR should be designed to do two things and two things only: encourage people to try your product and get people who have tried your product to buy more.

If anyone at your agency tells you something different, start looking for a new agency.