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.

Claymation vacation

Travel advertising is almost always all the same: show me pictures of your scenic wonders, your wild nightlife, your awesome waterparks, your spectacular hotels, your indigenous culture.

Others have tried to do things differently without much success, including my adopted home state of Wisconsin.

Here's one that does.



It works because it stands out. It works because it captures the spirit and character of the UK in a fun and interesting way. It works because I'm hoping this is the first of many spots in which these two famous characters will be showing us their home country from their unique perspective.

It's a rare campaign that actually has me looking forward to the next spot.

Data is a distraction

The paradox of modern marketing can be summed up in two quotations by Dr. W. Edwards Deming.

"In god we trust. All others bring data."

"The most important things cannot be measured."

We are awash in marketing data today. Between behavioral tracking on the web, GPS enabled devices that are capable of telling us where a consumer is when he accesses our mobile ad, set top box information from cable and satellite providers, check-out scanners, bio-feedback research and a whole host of other new technologies; we have more data than ever about when, where and how consumers interact with marketing communications.

Unfortunately, none of it matters because we have no idea whether what we're measuring actually drives sales.

Did a customer buy because he clicked on a banner ad, saw a TV spot, liked us on Facebook or got a digital discount as a reward for checking in on Four Square? And just because someone did it today, does it mean he or others will do the same tomorrow?

Who knows?

The answer, of course, is nobody.

Despite all the pontification, prognostication, posturing and polemics, the marketing measurement industry has yet to offer anything of substance when it comes to connecting our off- and on-line activities with actual consumer behavior.

Does that mean we should not be measuring the effectiveness of our marketing efforts? Absolutely not.

But if I were managing a brand, I wouldn't accept any measurement as gospel if those presenting it aren't able show a direct causation between their research results and sales.