Many experts agree that while the economy may have bottomed out it’s going to take a while for consumers to start spending again.  Which makes the topic of LSB’s 20th annual Brandworks University (May 24 – 26, mark your calendars now!) all the more compelling and timely.

The 2010 Brandworks will focus on getting folks to open their wallets and spend more using the latest insights and techniques from behavioral economics and consumer psychology.

This is how Marhsa Lindsay sums it up, “In an effort to get their target to spend again and again, many marketers see computer-enhanced statistical analyses and predictive modeling as their ‘Holy Grail.’ Others argue that consumers are better persuaded with new insights from behavioral economics and social psychology; recent discoveries on the cognitive and emotional factors that drive decision making. Which approach produces better ROI? Why must you master both?  How are some of the smartest marketers marrying the two approaches? And how are they best applied given that technology has now made the promise of one-to-one marketing real?”  For additional detail, check out our Brandworks 2010 Web page.

We’d love your feedback.  What do you think of the topic?  Will you attend?  Any speakers you’d like to suggest on this platform?  We’re all ears.

Oh, and detailed program information including speaker line-up and registration information will be available later this fall.

AR

While in Boston recently I saw some Michelob transit ads that got me thinking. The campaign had headlines that went something like this:  “Think Rooftop Garden vs. Fire Escape. And, “Think Courtside vs. Nosebleed. I would characterize this as competent advertising. Not overly clever, but well executed and well strategized.

But what really got me thinking is that in this world where everyone is going just a little crazy over social networking and wringing their collective hands over what to do next, maybe it’s time to return to some basic advertising principles. And that’s what’s interesting about this campaign.

First of all, it’s for beer. One of those products that, while many have tried to create a “point-of-difference” few have succeeded. Consider the Coors “We’re colder” campaign running right now. Really? Isn’t the temperature up to me? It’s trying to invent a point-of-difference where one doesn’t’ exist. It may be relevant to people, but it’s not differentiating. Any beer that comes out of my fridge is cold. Mnemonic campaigns like this one rely on repetition to hammer the message into people’s heads and take a lot of media dollars to be successful. I’d rather be smarter.

So where is the sweet spot with a product like beer? Let’s go back to one of the very simple tenets of our business: Positioning.

The Michelob campaign does a nice job of positioning the product. And there are other beer campaigns that use this as well. The Miller campaign where the guy takes the beer away from the “high-falutin’” people is another excellent example.

The interesting thing about this advertising is it’s for a product category that, for the most part, is parity. In blind taste tests people can’t even tell their favorite beer (go ahead and argue, but try it sometime). And yet, these products have found a way to differentiate by using one of the oldest tricks in the book. Positioning.

But wait, it gets better. You can’t simply position a product with demographics, or even by narrow psychographics. You have to take a broader cut at it. What these campaigns have going for them is they all use archetypes. Michelob is positioning itself as a Ruler brand and Miller is a Regular Guy.

Archetypes are the most powerful and useful tool out there because they position and differentiate in broad context. Consumers aren’t good at nuance. Sorry to break it to you but they simply aren’t looking at your advertising that closely. Most consumers could play these beer’s positions back to you pretty succinctly. Miller, the beer for regular people. Or Michelob, the beer for achievers.

So, if you’re panicking about what to do in this new world of social network marketing, or any marketing for that matter, the first step is to figure out what archetype your brand can use most effectively. If your advertising can’t answer the question for consumers: My product is for people who _____________. You’re not there yet. The next step is to communicate that position as clearly and succinctly as possible.

BW

Brandworks University® 2009

In this 4th installment of summaries of LSB's Brandworks University 2009, we introduce Charlene Li, co-author of Groundswell, formerly of Forrester Research.  Li offers tips and strategies for leveraging and measuring the conversation economy to jumpstart results in your organization.

AR


Profile of the Conversationalists
Success Strategies for Tapping into Conversations and Transforming Your Company’s Marketing
Charlene Li, Co-author, Groundswell: Winning in a world transformed by social technologies 

If you think social networking media like Twitter, Facebook or YouTube are all about the technology, you’re asking the wrong kind of question, says Charlene Li who co-authored of the best selling book “Groundswell: Winning in a world transformed by social technologies” while she was at Forrester Research. “I don’t believe in chasing the latest technology. I call it the shiny object syndrome.”

Rather, Li argues that social media have the power to transform not just marketing, but whole companies. “It is going to mean tremendous change in your organization. Social media marketing will challenge existing preconceptions and ways of doing business. So, if you’re going to do it, you had better be focused on something the CEO really cares about.  You need to associate it with the most important corporate goals.”

This is not about you selling products and services. This is about starting a conversation, Li told the 2009 LSB Brandworks University audience. The conversation might be about marketing, but it also might be about customer service, technical support, new product development or other corporate functions that don’t normally fall under marketing.

“In the future everyone is going to be a marketer. Everyone will be in a position to have a dialog with the customer.  Anyone inside or outside the company can be a brand ambassador, representing your brand. The reality is they’re doing it now.”

She recommended three important steps to successfully embracing social media conversations:

First, get the right people on the bus. The customer’s driving the bus. You want to find the revolutionaries in your company who are both realistic and well connected and have them develop your program. Social media will break down silos in your organization. Work is a process. It’s messy. It doesn’t happen in silos. You need collaboration tools that reflect how work really gets done.

Second, measure the right things. Use the same metrics as your existing marketing goals so you can see if social media are helping you reach those goals. You might want to track a net promoter score: how often do people recommend your brand? Or your metrics might focus on increasing net lifetime value of customers. The surest route to failure is engaging in social media without knowing why you’re doing it.

Third, the hardest thing is loss of control over your message, your communication process and your relationship with customers. You may have a sense that you’re in control today, but the reality is that if you don’t start participating in the conversation, you will not be in control.