brand sundae

what your brand can learn from #NBCfail

They wanted a dialogue. Well, they got one. Just not the one they wanted. “They” of course is NBC. Prior to the beginning of the XXX Olympiad, everyone proclaimed that these would be the Social Olympics, what with all the posting and friending and tweeting and pinning. NBC even partnered with Twitter, airing compelling commercials of behind the scenes moments that could be experienced under the tidy #Olympics hashtag.  

Everything was set to be wonderful. These would be the most connected Olympics ever, with all events streamed online for cable subscribers, live Twitter feeds of events and millions of screens ready to display amazing feats of human achievement. If only the masses would appreciate and cooperate.

Well they did. Until they turned on their TVs, having done the time difference mental arithmetic, expecting to catch marquee matchups as they happened, and instead saw obscure sports instead. Until people could follow the #NBCOlympics live feed of the opening ceremonies but were told they couldn’t watch it on TV live because the American people were deemed to need “context”. Until live streaming online failed for many through slow and freezing feeds. Until there ended up being more commercials for the Olympics than actual Olympic events.

Then these masses decided to make use of those very social vehicles that were supposed to exalt and make merry. So NBC got their wish - people started using hashtags to communicate with each other. Only problem was, instead of #Olympics, it was #NBCfail that was trending. On July 28 there were 6543 mentions of #NBCfail and on July 29 had jumped to 20,807.

The problem was made worse when journalist Guy Adams went as far as to tweet the public email address of an NBC executive, asking people to direct their feedback real time, at which point his Twitter account was temporarily suspended and sparked a whole side circus.

NBC must have thought: these Social Olympics have gone horribly awry. On the contrary, this is the social media dialogue mechanism at its best. This is how the Social Olympics is supposed to work. You put something out there in the world. People respond - with the good, the bad and the ugly. You listen, learn, and reply back with a rebuttal. And so on and so forth. This is where the dialogue part comes in.

So where did NBC #fail and what can brands learn from their missteps?

1) Brands must embrace their critics. The number one rule of Social Media is that it creates level playing field for the everyperson. Now anyone’s opinion on Amazon reviews or Rotten Tomatoes counts and matters. A blogger passionate about cooking is just as relevant as a professional chef. When NBC chalked up the majority of the dissatisfaction to “a vocal minority”, they dismissed the most important people they should have been courting - those that took the time and effort to make their views be heard. Waiting until it’s a “majority” no longer matters. NBC needed to embrace its critics at the very time they patronized and diminished them.

2) Don’t assume purchase equals positive affinity with your brand – understand the choices consumers are looking for. NBC may be inclined to dismiss this “vocal minority” because of the highest viewership ratings for non-US Olympics since Montreal in 1976. But they’re missing the point. The sentiment behind the viewership needs to be appreciated. Just because people are reluctantly consuming your product doesn’t in and of itself means you’re doing a great job. Just ask cable or airline customers forced to accept the only option given. They purchase, but it isn’t building your brand positively. The economics of the games are well understood. Whereas channels such as the BBC are funded by viewers, NBC is funded by advertisers. This suggests then, that while BBC has the permission to program for its primary stakeholders - the viewers, NBC should do the same and optimize for its advertisers. But the ire of viewers stems from not from an incomprehension of the business, but from presumption on the part of NBC that the only way the content can be consumed is in Bob Costas approved bite sized morsels. Consumers today are savvier than ever and want the ability to choose their consumption. Live, unedited stream? Here you go. Prepackaged and efficient in primetime with dramatic commentary? There it is. NBC needs to acknowledge this by offering choices that better reflect the wishes of the viewers.

3) Use social media as market research. Longer term, NBC should recognize the value of social media vehicles as a mechanism for improvement. There have been recent articles of how many companies such as Frito Lay, Sam Adams and Wal-Mart are using social media vehicles like Twitter and Facebook as real time market research vehicles. NBC owns the rights to broadcast the Olympics until 2020. This is a perfect opportunity to listen, learn and modify. Because by the time the next Olympics in Sochi, Russia and Rio, Brazil roll around, we can be sure that if there has been little patience for poorly integrated content today, there will be much less patience in 2 or 4 years from now.

In the end, of course NBC must be mindful of the economics that enables it to exist. But so too must they be aware of the new reality in which they exist. Jeff Jarvis summed it up best on buzzmachine.com when he wrote: “The problem for NBC as for other media is that it is trying to preserve old business models in a new reality. To experiment with alternatives when billions are at stake is risky. But so is not experimenting and not learning when millions of your viewers can complain about you on Twitter."

So though #NBCfail may be the big story that NBC never intended to write, if they truly appreciate the meaning of the Social Games, they’ll learn the lesson within. Because when it comes to digital and social arena, many want to play, but not many can credibly compete, let alone win. NBC has a week to show that in very spirit of the Olympics, they’re willing to learn and get better.

ode to motherhood: two ads that get it just right

As a new mother, I have a new found appreciation for ads that cater to this demographic.  And on Mother's Day, I couldn't have found two better examples that capture the heart behind mothers in such a poignant way.

Both of these ads don't try to be over the top, but instead find the drama in the quiet little moments: children waking up, the difficulty of dressing newborns, the heartache and the joy that goes into each day.  

Both find a way to be on message and highlight their products without seeming gimmicky or forced.  Both are a delight to watch over and over.

So Happy Mother's Day to all the tireless mothers out there.  Enjoy:

P&G Thank You Mom:

 

 

Johnson's Baby: You're Doing OK Mom:

 

social media overload: resist the urge

Apologies for the radio silence - having a newborn reshuffles priorities and writing coherantly, let alone articulately, falls to the bottom of that list.

But I was roused into needing to write something by the following commercial I came across this week:

 

It's for Azo, a pain relief medication for UTI sufferers.  While the ad itself does little to stretch beyond the classic formulaic approach to the category, that's not what I have issue with.  

It's the text at the bottom of the last screen:  "Like us on Facebook".  

Really?  You, brand manager of a product that is quite personal in its purchase and use, are asking your consumers to declare in front of all their friends, acquaintances and colleagues that they "like" your UTI med?

A clear example of a marketer that is following the checklist approach to social media - "everyone else is doing it, so we need to be too!"

But you're forgetting that your brand can't authentically leverage the same tools in the same way that a Starbucks or a Lululemon can.  People do not assign positive value by association to your brand.

Sadly, Azo is not alone.  Perhaps one of the more obvious, but not the only.  Brands everywhere are trying to shoehorn their way onto Pinterest and Instagram and  ....  But very few are asking the question of whether that medium is the right one or the best one.

Again, get back to the core of your brand.  Is there a high level of visual expression?  Consider ones like Pinterest and Instagram.  Does it rely on locations?  Then FourSquare and the like make more sense.  Et cetera...

But surely every social vehicle cannot make sense for every brand.  

And in some cases, such as Azo, as sad as it is to not be able to jump in the frenzy with everyone else, it might make the most sense to stay away all together. 

Because if there's anything worse than missing a social media opportunity, it could be misusing it.

pinterest: when listening is more about seeing

I don't know about you but I love learning about new apps and platforms and ideas.  That's why I religiously scour Fast Company and the HBR Blog and Twitter for the latest and greatest.  When friends mention something on Facebook, I immediately google it and if possible, sign up so I can learn about it firsthand.  Tens, maybe hundreds of apps and websites lie abandoned on my iPhone screen or computer bookmarks, giddy in their initial use, now relegated to status of peripheral and forgotten.  

But still I search for the next thing that will change my life.

Enter Pinterest.  It's still relatively new for me as I've been in China for the past year.  So imagine my delight at finding such a simple mechanism to collect all of the mood boards and inspiration nuggets that I've got bookmarked here and saved away there.  I've quickly become a wholesale adopter, adorning all of my computers/phones with the "Pin It" button.

Until inevitably, it hit that tipping point, when everyone else found out about it, including of course, big brands.

Now they're asking the questions they always do - how do I leverage this to sell more products?

This is all good and well, and it's exciting to see big brands move up the adoption timeline, but judging by early attempts of brands to leverage Pinterest, the question they should be asking is: how do I really, deeply understand the power of this and evaluate if it's right for my brand to use?

I came across a fantastic point of view on the HBR blog regarding Pinterest and the less obvious way it could be used:

Pinterest as Free Market Research - Grant McCracken - Harvard Business Review

What so many people are forgetting is that you don't need to look at this platform as yet another way to shout your message to your consumers, but rather, that it's a remarkably elegant and real way to listen to your consumers.

One of my favourite consumer research activities is to get consumer to bing in a mood board of how they think about Topic A or Product X.  Beyond the specific images, the entirety tells a story.  One that brand marketers should be trained in being able to listen to and translate.  

In that same vein, I can look at a topic like "coffee" on Pinterest and see what inspires and delights a certain set of consumers.  I can see what adjacent topics they think about when they also think about coffee.  I can see a whole rich world that evolves around coffee.

Sadly I find that too many brands are so busy trying to "start the conversation" that they're forgetting that that very crucial and necessary part of the conversation equation... listening.

So here's a suggestion - before signing up to try out a new platform, take some time to sift through the ones you're already on (like Instragr.am) .  Instead of brainstorming ways to send yet another message to consumers, figure out a way to listen to what they're already saying.

What do you learn?

google: making the necessary interesting and relevant

How many of you fully read through every privacy and terms statement that you're presented on websites daily?  I'm guessing not a lot and if you're anything like me, you assume that it's run of the mill stuff that shouldn't (fingers crossed) come to haunt me in the future.

Well with privacy issues becoming more and more critical and top of mind, I feel I ought to be more informed, but I just can't bring myself to engage on the topic.  So I let it slide each day, "hoping" I'm covered.

So imagine my surprise and delight at Google's latest attempt to educate its users on a wide range of topics from online security to personal information management to privacy.

A roll-over banner, it employs my favourite principles of simplicity and intuition in covering the most important of topics in a clear and informative way.  In 3 minutes, not only had I clicked through the whole "book", but I felt sufficiently informed on the important topics.  Most importantly, I knew exactly where I could go to learn more and do something about it.

A lesson all brands can learn - how to not back away from the dry, "boring" parts of your brand that need to communicated, but to take that on as a challenge of how to make even that content engaging.  

chipotle: blending business and social purpose with flair

If you want to see a beautifully compelling and simply expressed commercial, look no further than Chipotle's commercial featuring Willie Nelson singing "The Scientist".

 

Admittedly, in the beginning I had no idea what brand was bringing me this ad.  But the music and the visuals immediately drew me in and held my attention.  The spot certainly should have scored high on watchability.  The drama was perfectly centered around all of the breaks with nature found within our food supply system.  The music served its purpose brilliantly - the lyrics matched up to the drama precisely.  And yet we didn't know who was telling us this message. 

Then, the payoff - the simple Chipotle logo and all the pieces fell into place.  The message, Chipotle's point of view and the benefit.  All while creating a wonderfully compelling commercial.

Does it shove the message that Chipotle believes in using all natural ingredients down  your throat?  No.  Because they know that that approach would have little impact and persuassion.  Does this spot, by highlighting the bad and countering with the good, share the hope that Chipotle has in "fixing" the situation?  Absolutley.  

A commercial that perfectly demonstrates how to balance commerical business needs with a higher purpose driven message.  

brand collaborations that breakthrough

Brand collaborations are everywhere you turn.  Missoni and Target or Ford and Eddie Bauer or Bvlgari and San Pellegrino.  But few have I found as beautiful as this Rugby Ralph Lauren collab with poets to bring a fresh new way of communinicating the brand's message.  Different and delightful - my personal criteria for a collaboration that stands out.

The Rugby Poets Club Presents: "Chariot" by Joshua Bennett from Ralph Lauren on Vimeo.

  

 

7 Ways Retail in China is Approached Differently

I’ve always had a love hate relationship with shopping.  On one hand, I’m female and genetically programmed to want to accumulate a vast assortment of wares.  On the other hand, my need for efficiency and quick decisions, and low tolerance for crowds is always at constant odds with the general experience of traditional shopping.   

But that was before I started working in retail and learned of visual merchandising and productivity per square foot and assortment planning.  Now every trip to any retailer is filled with learning. And nowhere more so than in China.  I’ve been continually surprised (and often delighted) by retail here.  Though it may appear on the surface that many of the same rules may apply as in North America, dig a bit deeper and what looks the same is actually run quite differently. 

I’ve learned through exploration so in turn, here are 7 of my favorite and most telling Retail discoveries to share with you: 

Starbucks - “retail to be seen”:  When most people think of Starbucks, they think of a fast coffee concoction first, and warm inviting place to type up that essay afterwards.  Not so in China.  When last reported in 2008, over 90% of Starbucks purchases were being made to be consumed in-store.  The US number was only 20%.  Though I’m sure that figure has come down slightly, most people in the industry here believe it’s still around 80%.  And that’s because Starbucks is a luxury brand in China.  And you want to be seen sipping one of their fashionable offerings.  It’s a sign “making it”. 

IKEA – “retail to be lived”:  When my husband and I walk into an IKEA, some rooms are so inviting that we can almost imagine living there – those inviting beds, those perfectly arranged living room settings.  Well, in China, consumers don’t stop at “almost”.  IKEA has been well recognized as being on the forefront of reimagining retail, with their artfully done showrooms effortlessly bringing vision to life.  And inspiring millions in the process.  When they expanded to China, they had similar ambitions, particularly as a company known to excel in small spaces, such as the ones Asian consumers face.  But what they’ve seen so far is consumers treating the stores like an escape-from-reality themepark than a store.  Countless families descend on these stores each day, to enact a degree of retail entertainment few had envisioned.  In the beds, people are fast asleep.  In the living rooms, families have spread out meals they’ve packed from home.  The professional merchandised showrooms are used as backdrops for personal photoshoots.  So while IKEA is currently remaining patient and waiting for these consumers to stop “escaping” and start “consuming”, for the meantime, retail here has taken on a life of its own.   

Apple – “retail to be experienced”:  Countless articles have been written on Apple, particularly their success in China, but it’s really hard to appreciate if you’ve never seen it firsthand.  We live about 2 blocks from one of China’s 5 locations and there hasn’t been one time day or night, weekday or weekend when this store hasn’t been straight out packed.  And I don’t mean, oh no, all the iPads are currently being demo’ed and I need to wait 2 minutes for someone to move on.  I mean, get your elbows out if you mean to make any progress through the store.  And I’d love to see some tests on the decibel levels of these stores.  Truly ear-splitting enthusiasm for a brand and products that mean premium and the ultimate in desirability.    

Taobao/myPiao/CTrip – “retail on delivery”: For those of us addicted to the convenience and choice afforded by online shopping, it’s easy to forget that once we were all very skeptical of giving our credit cards information to the mystical beyond.  Well, in markets like China where there are legitimate concerns with providing payment information online, companies have innovated to allow for cash on delivery.  Countless retailers offer this, from Taobao, China’s Amazon to myPiao, a Ticketmaster equivalent, to CTrip, the leading provider of airline and hotel arrangements.  Retailers here have had to adapt their business models to accommodate security concerns, as well as consumers wary of paying for a certain product online and receiving a swapped, lower quality/ counterfeit product upon delivery.  Payment in cash on delivery serves to alleviate many of these concerns and facilitate the rapidly growing online marketplace.   

Luxury pop-up stores – “retail anywhere”: Go to any major commercial area in a top city and you are guaranteed to see event marketing on a scale you’ve never seen before.  Every week, in the center of the Grand Gateway mall in Shanghai there are countless (usually luxury) retailers clamoring to erect a massive yet temporary shrine to their brand.  These glossy, high profile showrooms usually employ an army of models and provide some sort of interactive element – whether a fashion show or a museum-like foray into the history of the brand.  It takes the retail experience out of the stores and into the streets.   

adidas/Nike – “retail everywhere”: I’ve mentioned before that distribution is key, particularly beyond the key Tier 1 cities of Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.  But few foreign retailers have managed to do what the sporting goods leaders of adidas and Nike have done, each boasting 6000-7000 stores across Tier 1-6 cities.  This is no small feat and has required skillful partnerships with local franchisees to ensure the brand experience is preserved while expanding rapidly.  Not perfect by any means, but they’re getting experience in Tier 4-6 business models while others are sorting out how to expand in Tiers 1-2.   

Street retail – “retail for the masses”: Big brands aside, China’s retail still belongs to the merchants in and on the street.  Often called high frequency for their impressive inventory turns amidst shoebox size store footprints, these retailers are truly closest to consumers trends and needs.  Offerings in the food stalls change continually with the seasons and festivals.  Apparel fashions are replicated and replaced with a speed that would impress “fast fashion” retailers such as H&M and Uniqlo.  Important lessons on productivity, consumer demand and evolution all start here.   

And for a bonus:

Fake retail – “retail to be replicated shamelessly”:  Most of you will have heard of the fake Apple stores found earlier this summer in Kunming, a city in southwestern China that otherwise does not have access to the same caliber of brands as Shanghai or Beijing.  But that was just the tip of the proverbial LV branded iceberg.  Fake IKEA stores have been found operating under the similar name of “Shi Yi Jia Ju” (vs. IKEA’s Yi Jia Jia Ju).  From the yellow and blue branding to the minimalist furniture outfitting mock showrooms, really the biggest difference has been the menu in the cafeteria, where Swedish meatballs have been replaced by Chinese braised minced pork.  And still that’s not it.  Fake Starbucks, McDonalds, KFCs to fake Disney themeparks.  To ignore the fake retail market, both in goods and stores, is to turn a blind eye to the very motivations that drive retail today: consumer desire and the innovation to meet those demands. 

Retail in China is one of the most fascinating industries to be working in today.  Even as a consumer you can’t help but be amazed by the fast and furious evolutions.  If you really want to see the innovations happening in the Chinese retail landscape, look beyond the inescapable wall of gleaming, bright shopping malls and past the lively, dimly lit local shops that line every street.  Look into each little ecosystem of commerce and you’ll see how retail is being reinvented every day.  

contrex: event marketing that breaks through

Wow.  This clip of an outdoor stunt for an European water brand left me simply delighted.

And that kind of reaction is all that's needed for explanation.  On benefit, unique and rewarding.

 

why branding is all about the story: Fast Company interview with Stanley Hainsworth

[Image:Flickr user jakeliefer]

For those that love branding or just learning about it, a great article and interview by Fast Company with Stanley Hainsworth.  His work on brands like Starbucks, Gatorade, Nike and Lego make for great reading in the article: How Starbucks Transformed Coffee from a Commodity into a $4 Splurge.  

Most impactful highlights for me:

I think great brands create the "end state" first. When launching a new product, marketers are not very specific about how a product actually works. They express more about the result. They talk about what you will feel or what you will be like if you choose to engage with that brand or that product. The Apple commercial in 1984 was a great example of this. There was very little about the product in the spot. It was all about the aftereffect of the product.

For me, it's all about having a story to tell. This is what will enable you to create an experience around the brand. Every brand has a story, whether it's the founder's story or the brand's reason for being. Some brands have never told their story well, or have lost their story. Microsoft is a good example of a brand that's never told its story well. It's a huge consumer product software platform, a mega conglomerate, and there's no love there. There's no emotional story to rally around. The Bill Gates story is such an incredible story, but it's never really been expressed by the brand.

People who aren't very experienced with branding, or are new at it, sometimes feel that they can get away with something being off-brand. But I think that genuinely good branding involves an examination of every single way the brand, the product, and the experience is viewed. Everything that you do, everything you release, everything you say -- everything is the cumulative expression of your brand.