T-Mobile’s Brand Redirect.

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September 23, 2010

T-Mobile has made a very smart marketing move by offering kids ride free on the family plan. In our house, mom pays the phone bills for all family members so T-Mobile has done its homework when it comes to the whole decision maker buying experience.

What’s smart about the promotion is that most plans now offer unlimited texting at a flat fee and since kids only text, this is win-back play of some marketing magnitude. In print ads, T-Mobile compares their $59.99 plan for 5 lines to AT&T’s $59.99 Family Plan for 2 lines (mom and dad).

T-Mobile, who still has the nicest brand color palette on the market, has locked up the phrase “The Family Network” with its logo in print advertising in NY, yet the website still publishes “Stick Together” as the corporate line. I smell a bit of desperation amidst this new kids-for-free tactic. No doubt, the new idea is working and kids do grow into loyal adults if well-treated, but flip-flopping brand strategy and taglines is scary stuff.

I’d like for T-Mobile to stick around; it’s good for competition. And carving out a space as the “family” network is quite doable, but it will take more than one price promotion and some cutting and pasting. It’s going to take a massive plan. Peace it up (in the Middle East)!

Ear buds as noise cancellers.

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Steve Poppe

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September 22, 2010

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I don’ know about you but I can’t read on the train if there’s someone nearby shouting into their cell phone. Hate to admit it but I can’t concentrate if there are people sitting on that same train yapping at a certain decibel level. How about trying to read at the beach next to someone with a loud radio? Am I alone?

Enter video on NYC subways. This is half a good idea. As an ad person, I like the medium and its ability to provide meaning sponsored entertainment and information. As a reader I don’t like it because it’s going to be more than a nuisance. 15 years ago, everyone read on the subway. Yesterday and this morning everyone had ear buds. Later today and tomorrow, with Kindles at $139 and other tablets ready to land, many will be reading again. But with the new advertising and programming din on subway cars (now available on NYC’s Number 7 line) it may be difficult. And are other commuter trains be far behind?

Plastics. That’s the answer. Soft, sanitized, polymers that fit into the ear. Once reserved to combat snoring and chatty jury rooms, ear plugs are a business with mad upside. You laugh. Mark my words. Peace!

A Small Business Business Idea.

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Steve Poppe

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September 21, 2010

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Though I don’t completely understand what goes on behind the walls of the Dachis Group in Austin, TX, I’m a big fan of their consulting practice and pursuit of Social Business Design. Having lived in the space contiguous to the one they’re trying to reinvent — creating more effective businesses through improved web 2.0 collaboration – I like how they have outlined the category and believe their Social Business Design terminology will stick. Like ERP.

They have money, are willing to spend it, and have a client list to die for.

Peter Kim, an early group member, wrote a post talking about the speed with which some companies are implementing social business change. Much of the work his company does is with large enterprises but large enterprises are like battleships when it comes to new stuff. I wonder if the Dachis Group might speed up adoption of its services by serving early adopter small and mid-size businesses – the first to rebound in an economic recovery. Talk about the need to do more with less. A small business practice at Dachis might also help inform the enterprise group and cover more of the business ecosystem. A thought. Peace!

Network TV Needs Recombination.

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Steve Poppe

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September 20, 2010

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My favorite modern marketer and lexicographer, Faris Yakob, uses the word “recombinant” a lot in his work and it’s a word I love. His thesis is that everything is old and that what is new is just repackaging and/or a recombination of existing borrowed things.

The new network television schedule launching tonight reminds me of Mr. Yakob’s theory. More cop shows, medical shows, a sitcom or two depicting likeable middle ‘mericans. But nothing really innovative. The last innovation, if you don’t count cable using the word “dick” was probably reality TV, now accounting for 2 out of every 10 shows. Program-wise everything is so stale. Oh, we can text message and affect outcomes, but that’s a little 4^th grade don’t you think?

We need some recombination here. Mix a little Steven Colbert with 60 Minutes or NFL Pregame with America’s Most Wanted. How about recombining House with Jersey Shore. Better yet, why doesn’t network TV go beyond recombination and just innovate completely. The answer I trust lies somewhere at the nexus of consumer generated video, geolocation, gaming with a dash of celebrity. The next big thing is out there and programmers with the vision to break the mold will reap the rewards. Come on networks, hire Mr. Yakob for a month. Peace!

Coach Does Social Media Right.

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Steve Poppe

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September 17, 2010

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A lot of people ask “Who is doing social media right?” Tough question. What they’re really saying is “Who is using Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare effectively?”

Social media is complicated and often convoluted. It is actually many media types: blogs, simple messages, texts, video, audio, pictures, email, etc. They are all social because they are shared.

So who is doing social well? Coach. They have a good mix of media and are using the right tools for the right part of the sales cycles: Awareness – Interest – Desire – Action. Of course there’s some cross over, but the people pushing and pulling the buttons at Coach are leading the way and have a plan.

Motivation in Social Media

Readers know I advocate that brands using social have a motivation, kind of like actors in a movie. Each person at the controls of their social media channel needs to understand their role and stick to it. Understanding which social media type is used for which purpose is a start and Coach’s people are pretty close to delivering on that. Twitter is for building real time, meaningful communal discourse. Facebook is for selling so long as it’s not too smarmy or heavy handed. YouTube is where Coach creates desire and loyalty, though this is one area still under development. Coach also gets it’s brand motivations: “fashion”, “NYC-culture” and “lifestyle” which are all clean and discreet. They just need to continue to live and breathe the motivations and innovate with them. Get the motivations right and the media delivery will follow.

Good job Coach! Peace.

Advertising Generics

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Steve Poppe

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September 16, 2010

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Advertising generics in this case does not mean store brands or value brands, it refers to the selling words we use in advertising and sales. Quality. Service. Tailored to your needs. Savings. You’ve heard these words a million times in selling. They are the flah, flah, flah of selling. Key words, if you will, that tell consumers you have no real message. Today, if you are selling quality, you are not selling.

If you want to study selling go out and do some cold calling. Or telemarketing. (No don’t. You may find your way to my door.) Advertising is a little like cold calling. But at least many who create ads understand the notion of engagement, product benefit, value demonstration and simplicity.

The best advertising and cold selling does not use generics. It uses meaningful selling ploys — to be figured out on a case by case basis. It’s an art.

In sales the pop technique for the past 10 years has been “solution selling.” Don’t sell the features – ask, listen, find the pain points and create the perception that your product can heal. Solutions selling has spawned a generation of listeners. “Hi, I know you are very busy but tell me about your company.” Nuh, uh. No thanks. Busy. Buh bue.

Stay away from generics. Don’t sell education, sell Princeton. Don’t sell medicine, sell your branded scrip. Listen to yourself selling, experience your ads. If you wouldn’t buy from you who would? Peace!

RIM needs a (name) change.

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Steve Poppe

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September 15, 2010

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Research In Motion needs a name change. Don’t fight the people. Change the name to Blackberry.

Next issue, the company needs to go on offense; it’s been playing Dee too long. Readers will know how I felt about “Love” as the branding idea for its bazillion dollar ad campaign. Not good.

RIM will announce quarterly results today and they are not expected to be pretty. The worldwide smart phone market share leader, RIM is in the sights of Google’s fast growing Android operating system. And design-wise Apple iPhones have captured the imagination of the masses. So where does that leave RIM? In a storm? Getting torched? Kind of where AOL was 8 years ago. Or Yahoo was 3 years ago. A leader treading water in a pool that is leaking. Leaking into a much bigger surrounding pool. RIM needs to see the future and go there. Right now it leads in business email. It leads in qwerty interface. It leads in web access, but these three things have diluted (another water metaphor) its brand idea. Hence love.

Come on Blackberry. Fight back. Peace!

Cathy Horyn, Ford and Job One.

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Steve Poppe

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September 14, 2010

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I love Fashion Week in NYC. Not sure what it’s called this year sponsor-wise, so let’s just call it Fashion Week. One reason I like it so much is it allows me to read lots of Cathy Horyn’s fashion reviews in The New York Times. She is one of my favorite writers. There is something intriguing about her prose. Often I don’t even know what fabrics and garments she’s detailing, yet I’m captured by her words, descriptions and metaphors.

Ms. Horyn is quite powerful and has been the subject of many designers’ anger and has, in fact, been banned from some tents because of her pen. It gives her more power.

In today’s paper, she had a column about Tom Ford’s show — he of Gucci fame. The review of the show, his first with women’s clothes in 6 years, was nice and painted a wonderful picture of the “glamorous, controlled” event. It explained the amazing presentation of his new line, but it didn’t do what Ms. Horyn normally does so well, explain the clothes. She was so caught up in the event and Beyonce and other personalities that she forgot to strap on her editorial eye and dig into the linen. Glad I read it. Glad she was invited. (Wish I was invited.) Hoped she has been a teeny bit less star stuck. Peace!

The Magazine Shakeout.

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Steve Poppe

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September 13, 2010

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In 2009, according to David Carr in The New York Times, magazine ad revenue was down 25%. Lots of business revenue was down 25% in 2009 so this statistic may not seem that startling. Not unless you look at the performance of magazines over the last 7 years. 25% down in a business that’s been down by single and double digits for years and years in not good. Reminds me of the car business. Magazines need to do something. And fast.

The user interface of a magazine is superior to that of a Blackberry or iPhone — paper recycling aside. Magazines are not going away. Cars aren’t going away.

What’s the difference between a publisher and a curator? About a hundred grand. Publishers are overpaid magazine dude(ttes) in a hemorrhaging business while Curators are underpaid Web content presenters in a growth business. If people with these two titles switched jobs for 6 months they might actually improve their respective lots.

I often simplify marketing down to two factors: Claim and Proof. For magazines (on and offline) I simplify the business down to Reporting and Presentation. Magazines, to thrive, need to find out what their Claim is, mine the Proof, have that proof Reported by experts and Present it in new and exciting ways. Peace!

New Agency Leader Ship

By

Steve Poppe

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September 9, 2010

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Paul Gumbinner, a friend and one of New York’s more successful advertising recruiters, wrote a post this week about how little diversity there is among agencies today. The unique agency segments of yore are no longer apparent. He is quite correct. Part of Paul’s argument is that the leaders of those agencies created unique cultures. Bill Bernbach in the 60s. Jay Chiat in the 70s. Dan Wieden in the 80s. Donnie Deutsch in the 90s.

Interestingly, the turn of the century brought agency start-ups and technology themed shops. Leadership became secondary to coolness. Exciting, new brands emerged with selfless senior management: Anomaly, Barbarian Group, Razorfish, Naked, Organic, Strawberry Frog, Taxi, Renegade, Brooklyn Brothers, Mother, Droga5 (cheater) and Poke. These leaders, smart marketers all, put their brands first. Built teams. Tried to figure out the new order and class of work, kept their heads down and promoted their brands. It was a good strategy. BBDO, DDB, McCann went a little GM, if you will. (General Motors.)

As all agencies (big and small) move toward the middle these days, using a complicated quiver of arrows, we’re beginning to see some new leaders emerge from this new group. These new leaders have been playing quiet offense thus far — and as Mr. Gumbinner points out. But the decade of 2010 is providing a fresh canvas for new leaders. Welcome Faris. Welcome Noah. Welcome Lori. Welcome Gareth. Peace!