A Change has come to Marketing

No one can avoid many recent print and television ads that connect us to President Obama's past presidential campaign with key words 'Yes You Can'. There is no denying that his campaign was a success and even images of eagerness and hope has inspired State Farm's new television ad that features footage of people at his presidential victory speech in Grant Park, Chicago. Another example of television ad is Dunkin Donut's that ends with the tag line, ‘You Kin Do It’.

Pepsi jumped on the phenomenon and launched their campaign on inauguration day at the Washington National Mall by taking advantage of the red and blue logo used in President Obama’s presidential campaign to connect us to America’s famous Pepsi logo. Some of their print ads featured in New York City subways really connect to the masses of all ages that travel in the underground. The print ads do not capitalize on the ‘Yes You Can’ phenomenon but takes advantage of their red and blue Pepsi logo to evoke youth, energy and new hope and prosperity which all represent our newly elected President and also bears a similar resemblance to the logo used in his presidential campaign.

I am very excited about the level of energy that President Barack Obama has infused into our country, the world as well as his influence on marketing. It is my opinion that the marketing industry will become much more challenging in the post era of recession as consumers attitudes change in regards to finance and politics. I am a marketing analyst and I can't help but shouting out loud 'Oh Boy'(a tag line from Pepsi's new print ads), ' Change has come to marketing'.

Innovative Marketing?

I am compelled by the new campaign for HBO's new season television premiere of 'Big Love'. Marketers are aware that in todays' competing business world winning is the name of the game and in television it is just the same given the state of advertising dollars these days favoring more to online businesses rather than television. Regardless, the new television season is here and big shows like 'American Idol' will dominate and HBO must consider innovative ways to attract new audiences. With emerging new cable shows such as Mad Men with its win for best new television series and True Blood with its win for best actress in a television show by Anna Paquin both at the recent Golden Globes, HBO's Big Love know there are new opportunities to attract new viewers seeking an alternative in cable-land while increasing HBO's brand awareness after losing momentum with previous hit show series such as Sex and the City and The Sopranos.
Innovation is probably more important these days in the world of advert sing because simply placing an ad on buses or banners online or coffee cups alone simply won't cut it. I was impressed with the thought bubbles with confessions such as "I slept with my sisters boyfriend' and 'I re-gift my Christmas presents all year long' floating on the heads of casually dressed participants as they mingled around the crowds of the rush hour this morning, promoting the new season of Big Love which premieres on Sunday January 18th at 9pm on HBO. I was impressed with it because I felt connected to it through the catchy confessions and have never seen something like it before. Also, it looked visually and naturally creative with a lot of work put into executing it without looking over-thoughtful. I've worked with a premiere company in their advertising division and know the behind the scenes planning, logistics and hard work put into a campaign like this. I have always believed that innovation is a key factor for any area of business to thrive and marketing is no exception. Regardless of the success of Big Love, I absolutely love this campaign and it is a winner in my book. I have never seen this show before and now I certainly will be tuned in on Januray 18th to HBO at 9pm.

Where to host your marketing events in the US

I came across the 2009 hardcopy edition of Biz Bash and was excited to see many, many exciting venues to host your marketing events anywhere in the United States. Take a look and good luck for a successful year of marketing in 2009.

Customer service and marketing

The world of marketing continues to rely on excellent customer service regardless of all the innovative strategies, product positioning and branding or re-branding ideas that we create. Great companies have seen their demise because customer focus seem to shift away from their core business model as they grow. Dell is an excellent recent example of how customer service became an issue for both their initial growth success and later loss in revenues. Dell's initial success is attributable to a superior supply chain combined with good customer service to their customers. When off shoring of various services such as call centers to India became a competitive advantage for cost savings to many US companies, Dell took advantage. In doing so, good customer service seem to have been compromised and was evident by a decrease in company revenues. Robert Walberg reported on MSN.com that, ". . . one of Dells biggest problems has nothing to do with price. The company is losing customers to poor tech support and customer service."
My favorite experience of poor customer service is a small restaurant that I frequent with my other half for cocktails and appetizers. The cocktails and appetizers are priced well and the space is quaint and there are numerous weekly and weekend events on schedule to entice new customers. However, upon more than one occasion after going there for over two years, we continuously get bad service and no positive resolution. We speak with the owner sometimes during our visit there and they believe all is okay. I cannot believe that when lengths of time pass and we return, there are no courtesy questions such; we miss you and hope there wasn't a problem with your last visit. We've visited numerous five star restaurants and bars and we know what top tier customer service is are not demanding it at this establishment but just being good local patronizing citizens. It is beyond me sometimes for any business owners not begin to comprehend how serious customer service is essential for any business. Businessweek.com recently reported a story on Fedex's ailing Kinko's acquisition and lists poor customer service as attributing to their negative profitability.
Good customer service should continue to be top priority of any business model and especially all company goals and motto. Monitoring of customer service as a key performance indicator is a small, time or financial investment and a win-win scenario for all business whether small or large and makes good business sense in the end.

Jennifer Aniston and showbusiness in Hollywood

With the success of Marley and Me at the box office two weeks in a row, Jennifer Aniston is now set to brag about her success at the movies. But don't let the association of her name with a successful movie fool you. One wonders who really was the draw at the box office with more than 33.5 million of dog owners in the US alone as reported by the American Pet Association(apa.org). The Christmas Season is a perfect time for pitching a movie like this to movie goers and it is no coincidence that Ms. Aniston's shot at box-office success with this movie works. Add to that the over-saturation of her image on gossip magazines along with aligning her with top stars Tom Cruise and ex-husband Brad Pitt and you have a free piggy-back scenario of a no name trying to brand herself as a Hollywood superstar. Celebrity managers know the work involved to transition their clients from TV star to Hollywood superstar because the reward can add up to millions when a star like Jennifer Aniston suddenly go from $5 million a picture to $12 million a picture. In Hollywood, promising actors are marketed just like products to ensure success, some become successful others don't. Is talent responsible for their success or marketing?

Kathy Ireland's Growing Empire

Add title of CEO, billion dollar sales and a plethora of products to showcase her growing business empire to Kathy Ireland's previous image of Sports Illustrated covers, sexy bikinis and supermodel. Sunday's television show, The Wall Street Journal Report, highlighted Kathy's accomplishment as a business mogul. Her business http://www.kathyireland.com/ sells home products for busy moms. One critique for Ms. Ireland's website http://www.kathyireland.com/ is that I don't feel it is visually appealing in contrast to other competitors and their websites such as http://www.williams-sonoma.com/ or http://www.target.com/ I do understand that their niche might be an appeal to busy moms but consumers in today's age are very smart and sophisticated and with one click they can be easily drawn to better designed websites. There is no doubt in my mind that Kathy's brand appeal will continue to grow as I watched her discuss the company's plan for future growth and long term success. I am a new fan of hers and love her business passion.

Marketing Today

The clout of marketing in today's business world is undeniable. The segments of marketing as well is numerous and continues to grow as we encounter even more complex scenarios for targeting new consumers. It will be interesting to see what approaches experienced marketers will recommend and enforce as the US and global economy gets back on track after our current US economic recession. Companies may certainly have to adjust their current business models to stay competitive as our new president elect Barack Obama and his team make amends to business and tax laws to stimulate the economy. It is my intent to utilise this blog as a medium to create a dialogue with other experienced marketers and all other business professionals. Interacting with all other professionals in regards to new marketing initiatives, marketing research, as well as marketing networking projects & events, is my hope for a successful world of marketing.