Atomic Ideas - Helping You Sell More Stuff!

Friday Flashback - VW and Trusting the Idea

Take a look at this classic VW spot from 1969. It is a minute long, was very successful, and surprisingly, doesn't even mention the client's name until the end of the spot.

Many marketing types today believe you have to state the client or product's name in the first 10 seconds of every spot and then trumpet it at least every 10 seconds thereafter. But customers won't remember your name if they don't remember your commercial. You have to give them a reason to remember. Either a compelling stiuation or a relavent marketable truth, or ideally, both.

This VW commercial does both. It creates a compelling and entertaining situation, causing people to hang on to the end of the spot where the marketable truth is revealed as well as the name of the product that can deliver on that promise. 

Take a look. Who knew (advertising) history could be so fun.

 

 

 

Memo to J.C. Penney - 84% of Women Surveyed Use Coupons.

The coupon was born 125 years ago. 125 years later with millions of the little suckers being redeemed every day, it seems it was a good idea... unless you ask J.C. Penney.  J.C. Penney is celebrating the coupon's birthday by trying to kill it at their stores. Their goal is to save women from these awful discount devils by removing them and other promotional devices from it's pricing model. Bright idea, or dim?

Rule #1: Know Thy Customer.

One possible answer comes in the form of a recent survey of women in the US by Valpak. The survey reveals that a lot fewer women than J. C. Penney would have us believe are wigging out over the plethora of coupons regularly arriving at their homes (see commercial below). In fact, 70% of women surveyed say saving money with coupons is as American as apple pie and they "love saving money and getting great discounts." 

84% of them say they use coupons they get in their mail, and in newspapers - 84%! Hmmm. Women don't hate coupons after all. Could be a problem.

Rule #2: Hope For The Best.

Penney's new pricing strategy contradicts the survey results with a move away from a high-low pricing model driven by coupons and discount promotions, to more of an everyday low pricing (EDLP) formula for success. Their advertising strategy is targeting what they apparently believe (or perhaps their own research shows) are women who are fed up with coupons and discounts. According to the Valpak survey though, that's not a lot of women. Regardless, Penney's ads to introduce the concept featured women screaming in apparent suicidal fear and frustration as discount signs dangle above their heads and coupons pour from their mailboxes. Apparently, the ads must feature the mere 30% of women who don't think coupons are as American as apple pie, and/or the 16% who don't use them (according to the survey, that is).

 

Rule #3: Don't Believe Everything You Read.

Of course this is just one survey, admittedly conducted by a company who's life depends on coupons. And if it's wrong, or skewed a tad, J. C. Penney may be onto something. If it isn't, 70% of women who "love saving money and getting discounts," and 84% of all women who use coupons will be going elsewhere to get their discount fix. And Penney might be going back to the drawing board.

Here are a few factoids from the survey:

More than eight in ten women (84%) say they use coupons received via mail, such as Valpak, and those found in newspapers.

However, digital couponing is gaining momentum; among surveyed women: 

 

• 65% use online coupons from retailer websites. 
• 55% use coupon websites.
• 34% use coupons from social networks such as Facebook. 
• 25% use deal-site coupons.
• 19% use mobile/SMS coupons.
• Nearly six in ten women (58%) say they have increased their coupon habits over the past few years.

Results were even broken out by party affiliation! Read more at marketingprofs.com.

 

Confessions of a Mad (Men) Man.

They say confession is good for the soul. So here goes:

As a somewhat Mad Men type guy myself, a CD/writer type who worked at a major agency on accounts including  BP, Red Roof Inns, Bennigans, Steak and Ale, Mazda, Kroger, Meijer, etc. and now at a smaller agency where I am a partner working on local and regional accounts (sound familiar?), I love watching Mad Men becuase it echos (if somewhat distantly) the real world of advertising.

Now here's the confession part: I DVR-ed the 2-hour season premier of "Mad Men" and purposly started watching 20 minutes late so that I could zip past the commercials. I must be "Mad!!!" Here I am, a guy who makes his living and his career off of commercials, watching a show about people who make commercials, and I didn't watch the commercials! 

Ah, there, I feel better. Now I did pay attention closely as I zipped past the commercials and noted that there wasn't a single one that I hadn't seen before (I watch a lot of TV). But the bigger point is this -- when a TV commercial is crammed into a 4-minute commercial break, even a pro-commercial person like myself has a hard time staying tuned in, let alone the multitude of folks who could give a crap. 

My solution is to have fewer commercials per break. The human mind can only store so many messages at a time, anyway. So have fewer commercials, charge more to air them (clients will scream at first, until they understand that there is more of a chance people will actually watch them), and make Mad Men and Mad Women TV viewers a little less mad! 

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iCarumba, a free iPad!! (It just took two years of patience)

Roughly two years ago (April 2010) when the first iPad came out, I suggested that instead of buying the entry-level iPad for $499, you could buy two shares of Apple stock at the then-current price of $242.  http://www.atomicideas.com/atomic-inkspot/2010/04/heres-an-idea-to-help-you-ipad-your-wallet.html

The theory being, that you wait six months and the stock would  have appreciated and provided a profit of  close to 30% of the price of an entry level iPad. Well, we missed that mark six months later by about 8%. BUT...if you had hung onto those two shares until today (roughly one month short of two years), the shares would have appreciated a whopping 144%. Which means your original investment of $484 (2x$242) would now be worth $1184 (at current stock price of $592). Which means you could sell one of your shares, buy an entry level iPad 3 (or add $7 from your pocket and get a 32GB iPad3), and still have one share of Apple left to appreciate further! Or wait three more months and pocket another quick $5.30 from the just-announced new quarterly dividend of $2.65 a share!

Either way, it supports a wise piece of advice I heard about investing a few years ago. When faced with a great item, you can choose to buy the product or buy (a piece of) the company. If you have a little bit of time, it's often better to buy the company!

 

Friday Funny: Truth in Advertising

Just as funny today as it was in the late '80s. Ladies and gentleman, Mr. Steve Martin....

 

Have a great weekend from all of us at Atomic Ideas.

Nissan DOES understand "Marketable Truths" after all!

Hey, someone at Nissan reads our Atomic Ideas blog....well maybe not. Either way,they finally are advertising "marketable truths" - ie , things they can say about their products that are true and should appeal to their target markets. Take a look.

 

It's a far cry from their "Fantasy" of a snowbaording pickup that does things no mass produced vehicle can, or ever will, do. Or their out-and-out lie of a spot (called that becuase they purposely tried to make it look as if it were a real news event-- so much so that some people believed it) which had a jet liner with a stuck nose gear land by placing it in the bed of a Nissan pickup that zooms out onto the tarmack.

But credit where credit is due. This spot gives consumers with a couple dozen grand in their pockets some real reasons to buy a Nissan. Whereas their previous pickup spots gave these same people a reason to say "hey, look at that" but no real reason to part with their dough.

Fantasy is NOT a Marketable Truth, Nissan!

Nissan is at it again. First they had a spot where their pickup races onto the tarmac to help a jet land by letting it put it's semi-extended front landing gear in the bed of the truck. Clearly fake, what does that say about the pickup? Since it's fantasy, NOTHING!  I could just as easily (with a special effects budget and matting software) have my daughter's 2001 Chrysler Neon with a bent fender and 126,000 miles on it, race out and save the jet by putting it's landing gear on the roof. Both say the same for the Nissan pickup -- Nothing!  Okay, you might remember the Nissan name. But once you think about the fact that they have no real benefits to talk about (which is why they present a fake scenario that no pickup could live up to) you're not going to seriously consider buying it. And isn't the whole reason advertising exists, is to try and put your product or service on top of someone's consideration list?

AND NOW...they come up with a snowboarding pickup. At least this time they try to avoid looking like they are LYING to us or trying to FAKE US OUT by clearly disclaiming it as FANTASY. So again, why should I buy the Nissan pickup??? Just because someone at their ad agency had a wet dream about depicting the vehicle like it was a snowboard and doing impossibly fake flips and jumps over snow covered hills? Substitute a Ford F-150, a Dodge Ram, or a rickshaw as the featured vehicle and the commercial would work equally as well, ie. not at all! 

While you're at it, Nissan, if you're  going to live in a fantasy world, why not just give  your truck lazers, afterburners, and submarine qualities in your commercials, too? No real truck has those, either.

At least when I walk away from an F-150 commerical I remember a benefit or two, like Eco-boost. Or with Dodge Ram, towing capability. But with a Nissan Pickup commercial, other than the dubious entertainment value of "gee, I'd like to see a truck do that", there is no resaon to buy one, because, "gee, NO truck bound by the laws of physics can do that." 

Sure a TV spot has to be attention getting, entertaining and likeable, but once the spot is over, if you want people to buy what you're advertising, it needs to have a marketable truth. In today's economy, it's not enough to have someone remember your product or service's name, they need to have a reason to part with their hard earned money to purchase it.

 

 

Meat and You -- A marketing message gone wrong.

At Atomic Ideas, we're in the communication business. The stragegy of, the formulation of, the proper transmission of, and the tracking of, your marketing messages. So naturally, we  appreciate when such a message goes wrong. Whether it is an actual ad, a parody ad or in this case, "an educational film" (which, when produced by a lobbying organization, is really just a long-form commercial) that was part of a Simpson's episode. Enjoy.

  

 

 

Happy New Year from Atomic Ideas!!!

Here's to a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year! And a look back at the last 34 New Year's Eves.

 

Happy Holidays!!!

Spray-on hair and Social Media.

Marketer's have long known the value of the customer testimonial and have done commercials and info-mercials based on that premise. Like for instance, Ronco's big-selling, but short lived, spray-on hair. (Click below.)

 

Now, let's face it, social media is basically cutomer testimonials on steriods. If people like you or your product or service, they will forward that 'thumbs up" to friends. The difference between social media and an infomercial is that in social media, REAL people are using the product (not paid actors) and everyone knows it. So for social media to work, your product or service has to actually deliver what is promised (and work in real-world situations). If it doesn't, REAL people will dump on it and your offering will be DOA. You won't even enjoy a short-lived success of the spray-on hair variety!

Challenge assumptions regularly when it comes to your marketing message.

You've been marketing your product or service so long that you really know your customer... or do you? Economic conditions change people's values,  new generations with different goals rise to prominence, people move, demographics change, neighborhoods turn over, and every year, some of your best customers leave the market completely. So what's a business, that wants to sell more stuff, to do?  Simple. Challenge your assumptions about what your customers want....by asking them.

A little market research from time to time is a tonic for stale messaging. Challenge even your most basic, "everyone knows that" facts. This gem was brought home in an entertaining fashion while tooling around "You Tube." I, like everyone else on the planet "knows" that cats don't like water....or do we?  Take a look:

 

 

INFOGRAPHIC: 5 Companies Doing Social Media Right!

Thanks to Scott Monty, head of Social Media at Ford Motor Company, for this insightful infographic. For more awesome social media advice and info from an acclaimed master of the art and science, check out his musings at The Social Media Marketing Blog!

Created by Voltier Digital for ScottMonty.com

Occupy Wall Street -- an example of bad branding!!!

Okay, so they had a chatchy name and they got thousands to follow. But then what? If they had better utilized the basics of brand-building, they might still be in business. Let's see how they did:

1. BRAND IDENTITY: This is where you differentiate your product or service. Calling themselves the 99% does not differentiate. The designation is so broad as to be nearly meaningless. Who are these people? Well they say it's 99% of the U.S. population. So I guess their group includes all kinds of people, including rapists, thieves, serial killers and the criminally insane, etc. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be grouped with those people.  -- FAIL

2. BRAND MISSION:  At the end of the day, what do they want to have happen? They can't tell you in one sentence or in a two-minute elevator speech, but even months after the movement has been in place, not one single person has even been able to outline their mission in any coherant fashion. (Now some might say that their mission was to gain publicity. But publicity is not a mission. It is a tool to help achieve a mission lke change minds, foster action, etc.) -- FAIL

3. UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION (USP):  If you want me to "buy, join, or support" your product, service or position, you have to tell me how, in a simple way, how my life will be enhanced or my problems diminished if I do so. Hmmm, I can't think of a single part of my lfie that is enhanced or simplified when people invade pulic parks, deficate on sidewalks, refuse to shower, steal from each other, rape each other and make senseless and contradictory statements to the press. (If you can think of a benefit in there for 99% of America, please comment below!)  --FAIL 

4. VALUE PROPOSITION: Here is where you show me how your product, service, or movement will help me attain one of my personal goals better, easier, or more cheaply than available alternatives. Since we have no idea what the goal of Occupy Wall Street is, how can they possibly convince us that their way is the best path to make it happen?  (In my humble opinion, living in tent villages, spreading disease, and basically posing a danger to themselves and their target audience (which is 99% of us, after all) is not the best way to achieve ANYTHING). --FAIL 

5. BRAND ICON: This is where you develop a character, graphic treatment or logo that is recognizable to everyone. Like the Nike Swoosh or Speedy Alka-Seltzer. Our only visual touch-point has been unwashed, stinking, bum-like people living in tents. If I'm not mistaken, that's already the logo for "Squalor."  --FAIL

6. BRAND FILTER: These are  "focus words", the words you want your brand to conjure in the minds of your best postential customers. Talk to anybody about the Occupy Wall Street movement and one of their first thoughts is of....confusion!  -- FAIL

7. BRAND VALUES: What are the core values of Occupy Wall Street. Some say it is "justice" -- getting a fair shake for the 99% of us. But is invading and befowling a public park justice? Is spreading disease, rape and theft, justice? Brand values can't just be stated, they have to be exemplified. And the brand values that Occupy Wall Street exemplifies and lives everyday are not justice, they are, if anything, criminal.  --FAIL

8. TAGLINE: This is the catchy phrase that sums up what your product, service, or movement is all about. Occupy Wall Street Doesn't have one. (May I humbly suggest: "We won't be happy until everyone's not happy!)  -- FAIL

The result of good branding is selling more products, services, or getting people to take a clearly defined action. Now you may disagree with our assessment of Occupy Wall Street's branding efforts above, but you can't argue with their results, which are....none! 

Photos courtesy of Daily Mail Online:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2046586/Occupy-Wall-Street-Shocking-photos-protester-defecating-POLICE-CAR.html

 

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Sure it's a little early, but let's face it, how many of you would actually be reading this ON Thanksgiving? So here's something for you to gobble, gobble up before the big day! Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Atomic Ideas!