Appropriating communication cues

There are communication cues specific to brands and categories – the ones who have done their work really well, or that relate strongly with a consumer need. Whenever you watch a black and white commercial with a 50’s glamour you immediately associate it to Martini, when you see a beautiful model rotating her head so her hair flies and bounces you know that is a hair care commercial. Those are strong imprints in consumers’ minds, and are usually said to be the strongest form of branding.

That is why you need to be very careful not to include those cues on your communication if your brand or category is different. Because consumers will not actually identify your brand on it – their mind will automatically relate to the original one.

A very good example is the latest Depuralina commercial. The tone of voice that is used seems an institutional commercial, the text aligns with it with what seems like a “don’t eat so much for your own health” copy, the images are very similar to a high-speed internet ad – and then that is a pill to lose weight. But, the fact is the message is only passed on the last 7 secs of the ad – and before that, you had so many different unrelated cues that you are lost and your mind doesn’t capture the brand. That is the sort of result you don’t want to have when you are investing strongly in a new product.

But we also have a very good example of a brand that actually made it its own to play with cues from other brands. “SAPO” (the Portuguese internet service provider) has actually brilliantly played with classic commercials as the backbone of its communication. The trick here for branding though, is the tone of voice and, especially, the incorporation of their distinctive figure during the ads. You can see their “Martini version”  below. Cheers!

 

A basic of international marketing

One of the most fundamental truths of international marketing is "don't think that because you know a country you will know its neighboor". Because so many things change, in so many borders in the world! And don't get flawed by things like sharing the same language...

Let's look at Chile and Argentina. Yes, they share the same basic language (though you would be surprised at the number of different words), the same basic history (Spanish occupancy, revolutions led by the Spanish families settled there, periods of richness based on natural resources exploitation, far-right dictatorships during part of the XXth century), the same passion for grilled meat. But then, we shouldn't overlook the differences. The very different political landscape over the past 20 years, the differences in terms of European settlement (that contribute to explain why you feel everything in Santiago so organised and the stronger rule of Law), the stronger fascination by brands by the Argentinean consumers (and the price orientation of Chileans), the macro-economic picture (just look at inflation rates and you will astonished), the glamour of Argentinians vs the practicality of Chileans.

If understanding one's market and consumers is the key for good marketing, then, don't assume. Deep dive! Live with your consumers, breath the same air. Understand the differences vs the markets you know. Because, at that, it is the root for success!

Watch out for cross-selling

When you try to increment your cross-selling you need to be careful about a handful of dimensions. But one that is key is profitability, as highlighted on the latest edition of Harvard Business Review.

Cross-selling may seem a marketer dream - you are expanding the size of your customers checks with you, without the cost of acquiring a new one. But that may actually be deceptive, as there are no free lunches - you will probably have to communicate or give incentives for that basket increase. My advice on cross-selling is:

- have a good and solid profitability analysis and carefully monitor cross-selling in-market performance. It is easy that in products with different profitabilities, one of them might mask the other's lower margin. So, think about this;

- ensure you have the right incentives to your sales people. Make sure that they are being measured in terms of profitability and not volume;

- make sure you are taking all costs of cross-selling in your analysis.

- focus on your consumer. Why would those products association make sense? What can we ensure our customer is winning with this association? Remember that consumer and customer should be at the centre - not your cross-sell intention. Don't start selling baby diapers because a 80 years old is buying baby food.

But don't be afraid to cross-sell. It may just be the right think to do. You just need to make sure you are not taking your eyes from the ball.

Some of the best social campaigns from 2012

I will not dare to say these are the definitive 10 best campaigns from 2012 (I am noticing Red Bull Strato Jump is not there), but, if you want to see a number of good examples, backed by good monitoring, you might want to follow this link and see Nike, Cadbury and Old Spice mingling up with unknown brands on the best social campaigns for 2012. Enjoy!

http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/11244-10-of-the-best-social-media-campaigns-from-2012

Wear out

Campaigns and campaign themes will not be effective forever. After a while, the target audience will grow tired of the ad, it will lose its freshness, its surprise. It will become predictable and boring. And it is time for a change. 

There is no scientific way to predict the wear out of a campaign. It depends a lot on the market, the target group, even the way the campaign was built. The best more, way to understand it is to keep track of the target group response to the campaign, using emotional attributes. Most of the consumers will try to rationalise and will speak loudly about a successful campaign that they really liked in the past - even if nowadays it is borgin to them. Thus, ask questions like "what does this campaign make you feel now", "what is the first reaction you have when you see this ad now",... So, keep close watch of your campaigns. Because one thing is for sure - however successful a campaign has been, if the target is perceiving it as old and boring, if it is not refreshing to watch it anymore, it is worn out. And it is urgent to have a new concept on top of your mind.

Note: A great campaign idea that is now completely worn out? Nespresso's with George Clooney. Simply predictable and tirable to watch nowadays. And it has been a classic.

A couple of basic social media tactics

This article from Brad Smith ( http://socialmediatoday.com/fixcourse/991816/3-best-social-media-tactics-get-more-customers ) highlights 3 usual social media tactics to drive customer acquisition and conversion, namely:

- Associate your social media account with a traffic generator - being it a relevant database or a complementary social account that share the same target group.

-  Advertise on relevant social media, but don't forget to give prospective consumers a nugget to convert views to engagement

- Ensure you have good, engaging content for your target group that can actually "grab" them consistenly.

6 basic ways to reach your consumer through mobile

Mobile is becoming a key media to reach consumer and get his / her engagement with our brand.When we think about mobile, we usually think about 6 ways to get contact with consumer:

- through plain (or enhanced) messaging, that takes advantage of the very high penetration rate of phones and smartphones - but that might be an intrusive contact, if not managed the right way;

- having mobile prepared website. Just keep in mind that this shouldn't be your usual site, you need to make sure that it is prepared to fit a smartphone / phone screen and avoids any conflict in terms of files being used (just remember the classic flash issue with Apples...). This allows the engagement on-the-go, totally spontaneous. It is also cross-mobile platform and enhances your reach in a very simple way.

- prepare apps. This is turning to be the new way of engaging consumers over the last 2 years, as it usually allows for greater quality of contact. But, the fact is this requires a higher initial level of engagement vs a mobile web site. And to prove it, there is the stat that in the US, a considerable number of apps (25%)  is bought but never used more than once. So, do it - but make sure that you have content and your app is robust enough to engage your target

- QR codes are used only by a restricted number of persons and, actually, let me tell I am still not very sure if it will actually catch or not. It is used to redirect traffic and provide further engagement with your brand or product

- geo-location streams might be provided when someone crosses a or gets into a specific area, impacting the consumer with our message

- and then... social media. Twitter, Facebook, G+ all have apps that provide a way to engage with your target on the go. Each of these platforms has a huge penetration and allows for very good interaction with your target - expanding the interaction beyond only one person But then, remember to combine the rules of these 2 games - social and mobile.

Some of this is further explained in http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/33024.asp?goback=%2Egde_78240_member_182512374 . But I think the main message is that you should be aware of these basic ways, put pay attention to their development in the near future - in addition to other mobile communication paths that are still being developed. Keep your senses open!