The marketeer's pursuit, in a simple sentence

"To achieve that right balance between short term revenue and long term brand building."

Never forget it!

Instagram

I am not sure if I told you this already, but I love Instagram and the way it harnesses the power of images to convey emotions in people. It is really allows brands to be aspirational, and that is a big secret on the way you inspire your consumers.

From me, it also has another angle. It forces me to keep my marketeer's photographic eye open, capturing the beauty, the feelings, the moments around me. I love it.

10 emotional motivators you should be looking out for

Marketing is a lot about harnessing the power of emotions towards your brands. In November's Harvard Business Review, these were the 10 emotional motivators that were highlighted:

- Stand out from the crowd

- Have confidence in the future

- Enjoy a sense of well-being

- Feel a sense of freedom

- Feel a sense of thrill

- Feel a sense of belonging

- Protect the environment

- Be the person I want to be

- Feel secure

- Succeed in life

Always think on how to position your brand on these motivators (which ones are relevant for your brand, market and product) and track its effect on sales (not easy) and how you stand. Only do it if you want your brand to be successful.

How the Mad Men lost the plot - my key thought on Ian Leslie's article

I am sure you have read Ian Leslie's "How the Mad Men lost the plot" - and if you didn't, you should. It is a magnificent reflection on the years of the advertising industry, showcasing the move to digital advertising and the effects that is having in the commercial's world.

But when I read it, and though I agreed with most of it, I could not helping thinking I have a fundamental difference versus the text - and maybe versus the way advertising is thought as a business nowadays. The truth is, for me, digital (being it social media, brand websites, digital pages with its ads,...) is just the media - there is a deep, fundamental work on advertising that is about the creative idea and its campaign. And when we put it in alignment with the consumers we want to impact, that is the heart of impact and advertising. Media is an important part of the balance, but brand and creative idea need to encompass consumer and product if an advertising campaign wants to be successful. Media is the means to reach the consumer physically, but the creative idea is the way we reach it emotionally.

Fake online reviews

And if I told that for 2 dollars a fake positive review can be done for your product and placed in Amazon, TripAdviser, Yelp... ( http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/technology/for-2-a-star-a-retailer-gets-5-star-reviews.html?_r=2&hp ). This article was from 2012, but this is still a major battle area for online retailers, given the importance of reviews on onsite search and consumer preference for a new buy. Online retailers and review-based-sites have the huge task and responsibility of keeping fake reviews and bay, if they want their business model to keep on thriving - as it is.

Sometimes we just want to indulge in great advertising

Should you disturb them?

All subscription services have those customers who are on the wrong subscription plan (they are paying too much for their consumption, or end up consuming a lot more than their plafond and spend more because of that) and don't actively try to change. They seem to be passive on what regards those subscriptions, which, from an Economy science point of view it doesn't make sense - but hey, this is Human nature, and it doesn't abide by perfect laws.

A study published in HBR shows that an incredible percentage of consumers that are contacted by their service provider and offered a better, more suitable plan, actually move out after being contacted (10%, vs 6.4% in a control group that had not been contacted). Probably the contact is the eye opening that they are not losing money or trigger to break passiveness - either way, it seems the company actually increases the chances of losing a customer by contacting this group. So, should they not do it?

Not so fast! One should not forget the message - how are the customers contacted, how good is the offer, what is the objective of the contact. This was overlooked in the HBR study and is actually key for retaining and maximizing a customer's profitability. So, before rushing to contact your passive customer, just put yourself in his / her shoes, design a good approach strategy that is aligned with your objectives and be sensitive in the message you are conveying. That should be the way to do it.