Welcome to the [your name here] rest area

Trend Observation:  Some states are considering the sale of “sponsorships” for way-side rest areas and other state-owned assets, according to a story in today’s USA Today.  It’s one way that states can make up for revenue shortfalls.  One state is even considering selling naming rights to a few bridges.  Click here to see the story.

Marketing Implications:  What government-owned structure might you logically put your name on?  Would it be smart for a beverage or soap company to put their name on a town’s water treatment plant?  Should a tire company put their logo on a recently paved street?  Maybe it would be smart to put your company name on a ________________.

Associating your company, product or service might be more than just a natural plug. Explained in your other marketing materials, it could be a way of endearing yourself to consumers as a business enterprise that is doing its share to keep taxes low.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Is “Like” a measure of engagement?

Observation:  Today’s Research Brief inspires us to ask a worthwhile question.  Just because you have lots of “Likes,” is your Facebook page successful?  Click here to see the story.

Implications:   I don’t know about you, but I’ve looked over the shoulder at several folks surfing Facebook and I’ve asked the same question.  And I confess to some of the behaviors myself.  Maybe someone sees a page because on of their friends has liked it, so they land on the page, are amused for a moment, and then click “Like” on the way out.  Was the campaign that elicited this response viral?  Absolutely.  But so is a quickly passing cold sore.  That doesn’t mean it will have a long-term effect on the user’s life, nor on the company involved.

It’s just as important with social and other forms of digital that you measure the right things.  Are you customers truly engaged?  How do you know? Are sales (or other desired responses) increasing in response to your messaging effort?  How do you know?  Where have you placed the thermostat?  You can get “re-pins” on Pinterest or “likes” on Facebook simply by sharing a picture of a horse with a hoof coming out of its head that you created with Photoshop.  That doesn’t make it effective social marketing.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Changes to health care spending

Observation:   Over the weekend, a story from the New York Times explained that health care spending is down… and more dramatically that the economic effects of the recession can be blamed for.  The article strives to explore a number of possible reasons for the decline; read the story by clicking here.

Implications:   If you sell any product or service that is related to health care, this issue impacts you.  We can anticipate that if the number of patients who are spending has declined—or the amounts they are spending have declined—the field of providers that are competing for those patients and dollars is going to be more heated.

So how can health care providers—and health care marketing—effectively capture their unfair share of patients?  Absolutely.  Start by looking at the product or service from the consumer’s (patient’s) point of view.  Follow the money trail, from consideration to admissions to pre-op to discharge.  As a story from NBC Nightly News suggested over the weekend, you might even look at the ceilings of a hospital room, to see what the patients see as they’re lying in bed!  (Click here to link to that video, or watch it in the viewer below.) 

The patient, above all, wants a successful outcome.  But on that journey, they’d also appreciate some empathy, responsiveness and authentic concern from the physician and support staff.  If you can deliver that experience, and explain your unique selling proposition in advertising (on-air, in-print, online), you’ll likely fare better than other providers who are competing for those same patient dollars.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

NBC News footage:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Twitter reports Social activity related to the Super Bowl

Observation:  A story from today’s Washington Post features the final score from yesterday’s Super Bowl… not in terms of the game, but the chatter.   According to Twitter data, there were an average of 10,000 Tweets per second during the final three minutes of the game.  Click here to see the story.

Implications:   What were the conversations about?  I bet a few were something like, “Great catch!” or “Bad call!”  Perhaps there were even some, “Hey, did you see that Doritos ad with the dog!?”  But it doesn’t matter whether people were commiserating, congratulating, or ad-watching… they were sharing the biggest game of the year with friends who were not necessarily in the room. 

Have you given your customers something to chat about?

[Interesting note:  If each of those Twitter comments represented one person, you could have filled the Super Bowl venue (Lucas Oil Stadium) more than twenty-six times in just the final 180 seconds of the game.]

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Emotion vs. Logic: Does your customer buy based on one, the other, or both?

Observation:   One marketing cliché suggests that consumers buy with emotion, and then rationalize that purchase with logic.  But today’s IPSOS newsletter includes an important perspective on that old aphorism.  Click here to see it.

Implications:   The opposite of emotion is not logic, and the opposite of logic is not emotion.  Just because people love your product or service doesn’t mean it is irrational. 

Also important… just because a consumer might be loyal to your product or service does not mean they love it.  It could be that they just don’t want to shop for an alternative because they are completely un-interested in the category or loathe the idea of shopping in the category.  They choose a product by default, sometimes, as a means to avoid the complexity of shopping at all.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

The science of shopping is changing

Add-on sales were once the name of the game; get people into your store, and then get them to make spontaneous purchases… beyond the item they came in to buy.  But with fewer people looking at shopping as an entertainment alternative, those up-sells are increasingly difficult to create.  That’s the premise of this recent story from Bloomberg, citing input from ShopperTrak.  Click here to see it.

Implications:   In a world where people are doing less casual shopping—and purchasing with greater intention—what can you do to make your store, dealership or lobby a primary destination?  Does your messaging compel the audience to consider you first?  Have you talked with your selling staff about working harder to include accessories, maintenance and other complimentary purchases to the core product or service?  Is your in-store experience so positively memorable that people will make you an exception to the rule as they do less "traditional" shopping?

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Colorful... but confusing?

Another story in the New York Times this week showcased how paint manufacturers are using descriptive storylines—rather than color names—to get customers excited about paint.  Click here to see the story.

Implications:   Because my background includes copywriting and campaign creative, I can appreciate the desire to make a product stand out.  But because I am also one of those people who has a hard time telling the difference between beige and taupe—it’s all tan to me—I’m wondering if abandoning the actual color name is a great idea!

This story was a good reminder that messaging should not overwhelmingly be designed to help a company stand out in its’ industry; the first priority of messaging should be to fit-in with the target consumer. 

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

"Me, too!" versus iPad: Why Apple wins.

Former colleague and continuing friend Todd Storch sent me this story from The Business Insider (click to link).  It offers some great thinking about why, even in a stressed economy, so many people will pay a premium for Apple’s original.

Implications:   The iPad is not just a device, it is also a facilitator.  It helps the user accomplish… catching up on the news, playing a game, reading a book, using an app.  And contrary to popular convention, it does it without adding more bells and whistles; their current campaign explains that the iPad is what happens “when technology gets out of the way.”  (See their current ad in the video box below.)

Could your company benefit from some innovation?  Instead of thinking about what to add, ask whether your offering might be improved by taking something away.  Being intuitive—anticipating what the consumer wants—is the path to profitable innovation.  And it’s what can keep any company, product or service from being seen as a commodity.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

The often-overlooked asset of social media: Input

A great story in today’s Marketing Daily explains how the people behind the Pepsi Refresh campaign aren’t just focused on what they’re saying. They’re also tuned-in to what social media lets them hear.

Click here to read the story.

Implications: Digital assets, when properly used, can help companies shift from a one-way communication strategy (where the company advertises to the consumer), to a two-way strategy (whereby the consumer can talk back). The remarks shared by consumers could be explicit (responding to surveys, etc.), and some of their input could be implicit (the remarks they offer in the comment section of a social page). But either way… you have more tools than ever before to tune-in to your customers and prospects.

But the analysis of social media participants is more than that. Social media has the power to turn an advertising monologue into a marketing dialogue. (Ask yourself: Would you rather listen to a lecture, or participate in a conversation?)

The Pepsi Refresh folks are using social media not just to reach out to consumers, but to research them. Are you (or should you be) doing the same?

Could you benefit from knowing how people feel about your company, your products, your services… or the feelings people have about your entire industry category?

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Social media or traditional advertising?

Last week, there was a story from Marketing Daily—citing research from ForeSee Results—suggesting that social media doesn’t work as well email, search, or traditional advertising in driving people to a company’s website. I only bring it up because I noticed that it was one of the most-read stories of the week, according to the story rankings offered by MD. I find that a bit scary. To find out why, read the story by clicking on this link, and then join me back here to finish this conversation.

Implications: I’m not going to come to the defense of social media, here. Rather, I’m going to indict the way too many companies are using it. I walked into a fast-food restaurant last week, and there were all kinds of signs asking me to “Friend” the place. First of all, you don’t “friend” anymore, you “Like.” Second of all, why should I? What’s in it for me, other than the chance to be spammed on Facebook with your special of the day? I don’t want to eat at your restaurant every day, and I don’t want to hear from you constantly via Facebook anymore than I want to receive your emails at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The folks who came up with the Pepsi Refresh campaign will tell you social media works just fine, thank you. Not because of what they did with social media, alone. But because of the way they have woven their social media, website and traditional advertising together in a logical, effective way: Motivate through traditional media and social, and then activate through social and website.

To me, the MD story and the ForeSee Results simply reinforce the idea that an integrated approach is better than using all of your resources as if they were pawns in different chess games.

How many different campaigns are you running? Is there one campaign for your legacy media, another for your website, and something different still for your social media efforts? Certainly, each of these weapons could represent a different tactic… but are they supporting a unified strategy for your company?

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

User-generated content carries the Super Bowl for PepsiCo

Several of the PepsiCo ads that aired during the Super Bowl were not produced by some high-flying agency on Madison Avenue, but rather, by fans of the product. The company sponsored a “Crash the Super Bowl” contest, inviting consumers to create ads promoting their Dorito’s and Pepsi Max brands. Today’s Marketing Daily has an interesting review of the process and outcome, which you can review by clicking here.

UPDATE: Also in today's Marketing Daily, a story about how Infiniti is inviting their customers to "do the talking." See that story by clicking here.

Implications: If you asked them, would your customers stand-up and speak-out on your behalf? While the PepsiCo effort was rather extravagant with million-dollar prizes, many companies inspire their customers to speak favorably about them on a regular basis. First by delivering a product and/or service that stands out as “delightful” and earns high satisfaction markets… but also by facilitating the conversation.

Do you have a process designed to surprise and delight the customer?

Do you have a process for inviting them to share their favorable remarks, by mail, email, Facebook or other means? The best spokesperson for your company maybe the person who last bought from you!

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

UPDATE: Super Bowl ad commentary

Here's a ranking from Hulu.com that invites consumers to give select ads a thumbs-up or thumbs-down... and then offers a look at the responses based on gender and general age. Click here to see it. (And thanks Ashley Testa from CMG Jacksonville!)

Click here to see coverage by Marketing Daily.

Click here to see results from USA Today Ad Meter... and click here to see USA Today reader opinions via Twitter.

Mike

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Was the advertising worthy of a Super Bowl?

Like many who work in the marketing field, I was watching the game more for the advertising than for the final score. At the same time, I was monitoring the social sphere for comments of Super Bowl ad fans. Today, an endless barrage of traditional and Internet media pundits are offering their review of the event, and the sponsors who paid for it.

You’ll find insights at these links… to the New York Times story, coverage from the Washington Post, and access to the ads, courtesy of Advertising Age.

Implications: I’ll save my personal opinions for other publications… but invite you to reflect on the creative used in last night’s broadcast using these criteria…

Even if the message did not appeal to you, ask whether the ad would appeal to its intended target consumer. In hindsight, can you guess who the target audience was for each message?

In the end, it doesn’t matter whether a commercial received wide commentary or wins awards. The question is whether the brand will enjoy increased sales of the product or service it advocates. (Pets.com had a wonderful ad in the Super Bowl in 2000, just before it went out of business… as documented here by Wikipedia. Their Super Bowl ad didn't kill them, but it didn't save them, either.) Only history will tell us whether last night's ads were effective, in terms of sales or other business objectives.

We live in an age where traditional advertising can be augmented by an immediate online relationship, by moving consumers to visit a website, Facebook page or similar destination. Did companies creatively and effectively gain that engagement? What could your business do to engage consumers via smartphone or laptop? Are you doing it?

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.

Starbucks to launch new logo

According to a story in today’s Media Post Marketing Daily, a new logo from Starbucks will exclude the name of the company. The move is intended to evolve the visual representation of the company as it moves into international market spaces, and as its product offerings go beyond coffee. Click here to see the story.

Implications: I’m not sure I understand what marketing problem this really solves for the company, so this will be interesting to watch. I would think a translation of the company name would be a more logical solution for the international issue. And if the Starbucks name is sufficiently synonymous with “coffee,” I’m not sure that prohibits the company from adding to its menu. (Dunkin’ Donuts successfully sells more than donuts and more than coffee to dunk them in.)

It seems to me a brand that stands for something (even if it’s coffee) is better than a logo that stands for nothing. But that’s just my opinion. Of course, I haven't seen the research that led to this move.

Stay tuned.

Mike Anderson

Volunteering: It's increasingly tough to find the time

Charitable giving was one casualty of the recession: When times were tough, it was tough to write a check as big as when incomes were stable and the economy was robust. But according to a story in today’s USA Today, it isn’t just charitable giving that has taken a hit, charitable actions have also fallen on tough times as families are busy tending to their own needs.

See the complete story in today’s USA Today by clicking here.

Implications: It’s not that people don’t want to give of their money, time or other resources. It’s that many consumers continue to have all of their resources stretched. That might lead to great Cause Marketing opportunities in the coming year… if you can think of ways for people to affordably do something nice for a charity that concerns your company and your target consumers.

Think of experiential philanthropy: Are there causes you can tie into that help consumers multi-task (i.e., satisfying a need they have, and supporting a cause they believe in)?

Mike Anderson

The ageless generation starts reaching 65

The most documented generation in history has received even more press this week, as the leading edge of the Baby Boom Generation cross the 65 year threshold. As one example of the coverage, here’s the way it appeared in the New York Times (click to link).

Implications: If one of your target or sub-target groups includes Boomers, it might be important to revisit how needs, preferences and priorities have changed for this demographic group as they roll through life. A smart piece was offered yesterday by Media Post in their “Engage: Boomers” publication. Click here to review that story…

And here’s to a booming 2011!

Mike Anderson

Will your product or service be left behind?

An interesting story from the New York Times last Friday pointed-out what many of us already knew: More sophisticated mobile phones (smart phones with cameras, more specifically) are causing folks to leave their point-and-shoot cameras in a drawer. Click here to read the story.

Implications: The casual-use digital camera is about to fall victim to technology, just as they made their film-photo predecessors obsolete just a few years ago. But the consumer driver was quite predictable: If I can carry fewer devices, and still enjoy the functions, why not!?

One must wonder whether ever more sophisticated hand-held devices (like Androids and i-Phones) might render less critical the need to carry along a small laptop. Or whether the i-Pad or similar devices might render a larger laptop less critical… especially with so many options in cloud computing coming into the market.

How are you reaching customers, digitally speaking? Is your presence as friendly on a phone as it is on a desktop? The answer to that question could dictate whether the consumer brings your message along for the ride.

Mike Anderson

Consumers have a plan. Do you know what it is?

More consumers are arriving at the grocery store with a plan in hand, according to data from NPD and featured in a Marketing Daily article just yesterday. (Click here to see the story.)

Implications: From cars to gifts to groceries, many consumers have held-on to the recession-inspired habit of planning for more purchases, and making fewer purchases “spontaneously.”

In your category, what does that buying cycle look like? Will they replace the vehicle when they hit a certain mileage point? Or are they waiting for the first major repair, and then ready to dump the vehicle they have now? How thin or dated must their wardrobe become before they’ll replenish the closet?

A grocery shopping list is not just a logical, tangible example of planned purchasing. It is emblematic of a new way of life for lots of folks. Is your product or service category impacted by this practice?

Mike Anderson

We've got some good news and some bad news

First, the bad news: The labor market did not expand as much as we had hoped in November, according to this report from the Washington Post. 39,000 jobs were added, but the increase in job seekers led the unemployment rate higher to 9.8%. Click here for the story.

Then, the good news: Retail sales were up more than expected last month, too… reaching a 6% increase in same store sales compared to November last year. That’s according to this article from Media Post Marketing Daily (click to link).

Implications: For some, the recovery is going strong. For some, it is just beginning. For others, it is still something they are waiting for… and will not see until they or members of their household are more fully employed.

One might ask: Which of my consumers are gainfully into recovery? Which have begun their recovery, but are still in a state of caution? Should my marketing message—or my sales floor conversation—be the same for each of these differing targets?

Mike Anderson

Consumers are operating on a need-to-know basis

This morning’s Research Brief features a Pew Research report about People and the Press. The study was designed to examine how much—or how little—people know about the balance of power in their own government and other high-profile topics, such as the recession, TARP, and more.

Click here to read the full article.

Implications: After first reading this report, it would be easy (and a bit unnerving) to assume that a lot of people are generally idiots. But thankfully, I don’t think that is the case, and I don’t think that’s what this data implies. In my humble opinion, the report might indicate that people are operating on a need-to-know basis.

They’re very busy trying to get or keep a job, raise families, make payments, catch-up on retirement, go to PTA meetings, take care of aging parents… et al. Political rhetoric has turned government into something that would often be more compatible with Entertainment Tonight than C-SPAN, and people don’t have time for it. Bailouts and recovery plans seem like out-of-reach topics that are decided behind closed doors and topics over which the consumer (voter) has little influence… so why pay attention? They have plenty of other things to worry about.

Certainly, ignorance about how our country works is a fundamental problem, and it needs to be addressed. But lack of education is only one cause; a greater cause might be lack of interest.

When it comes to your business, how complicated has life become for the consumer? Is you marketing message focused on things you want people to know? Or does it focus on what consumers need to know?

An important question to ask… when so many consumers are operating on a need-to-know basis.

Mike Anderson