Archive | March, 2012

Marketing: the core to any (successful) brand

20 Mar

When times get tough or crisis enter into a company’s boardroom, usually the first thing to go is Marketing. Many CFOs and CEOs confuse marketing with selling, and, marketing with advertising. In fact, many people think that they’re all the same thing.

For us marketeers, we know they’re not.

Marketing is how brands connect with their stakeholders. It’s all about communication, not selling. Marketing has so many facets to it. 

Once you decide whom you’re marketing to (or communicating with), the rest should fall into place. What media does this audience consume? When do they consume and how do they want to consume this information?

How do we create solutions for this group, not just by making more products and services? We should be providing extra value than our competitors are providing. Prove to your customers that they’re not just a number, but surprise and delight them with out of the ordinary service and value adding by allowing them two way communication and access.

Don Schultz founded the 21st Century SIVA principle that far outweighs the old Four Ps scenario. It makes far more sense in our modern world with consumers demanding two way communication and being involved in co-creational marketing where the brand and customer find solutions together. Solutions, Information, Value and Access is where it’s atYes I know bottom line is imperative, but without the customer and marketing at the centre of a brand, you can’t connect with your customers. You can’t build relationships. This is how you maintain long term success.

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Authenticity – Are you showing the real you?

18 Mar

Authenticity is something that belongs to the soul of a brand, person, sporting team…. you name it. It also vindicates why we follow sporting teams like The Roar, Broncos, go to The Gabba to watch the cricket or see a band that has been around since your childhood. It also validates the brands that we wear to those occasions, what we eat and drink, our (excitement) activities before and after the show, and the merchandise that we purchase to re-affirm our loyalty.

Last night I saw Duran Duran at The Brisbane Entertainment Centre. They had nothing to hide, infact they showed true qualities of amazing (and stunningly gorgeous), men who had aged as well as a good red. Simon Le Bon had throat surgery late in 2011 but you wouldn’t have heard any different. While these guys have aged tremendously well, they showed their authenticity by being transparent. There were no extra kilos around their waists and they put on a show as good as any 20 year old somethings. They connected with their fans by telling stories, going out into the audience and playing all of their old hits. They used Twitter thanking fans after the concert. Transparency is something that a brand needs to show if they want to humanise the experience.

The sexiest men on Planet Earth

People, like brands are authentic, if they want to be. They show us what they want. They tease us, they pretend. They hide their weaknesses. May the Duran Duran boys keep taking us to Rio within our wonderful Planet Earth for another 30 years with their authenticity!

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