Micro marketing campaigns are like the everyday cheer up kiss

Sometimes I wonder why marketers always do this BIIIIG campaigns, with massive contests on social networks, ads on billboards and all that, but forget the small gestures. In real life.

I am thinking of the power of micro marketing like for example:

1. Customer service in shops - I know it is important for a shop assistant to show the consumers they are there, but do they need to stalk you around the shop and shour "how are you today???" from behind? What if I simply want to stroll around and make my own decisions. Perhaps I don´t want the attention and fashion advice from 20 year old girls...? The same goes for waitresses constantly keeping an eye on our table - hey, it feels a little creepy having you staring at us, chick! (lol)

2. When I stand in lines, bored to death - The brand that can make people happy while they are not by surprising them with something will be the winner. I am thinking about the frozen yoghurt shop in my hood where they hand out free samples outside the shop. What if they instead stood at the busstop when people have all the time in the world (unfortunately) and really need cheering up? The brand would be loved forever!

3. Clarity - I am trying to change mobile broadband provider from Virgin to Vivid and once again I am confronted with the awfulness of calling customer service, spending ten minutes listening to recorded voices, going back and forth in menus, searching on the websites on how to cancel an account, being transferred here and there, and being REALLY ANGRY. Nothing is more painful than the detalis behind the headlines, so to speak... It sounds good in the ads, but the fineprint of opening and cancelling accounts is a maze. What about having clear signs on "close account" and "open account"? That would make me happy. Now I hate Virgin mobile broadband forever, even if the service was ok.

It is like in a relationship where the going down on one knee, proposing, being on honeymoon, buying jewellery for a birthday is all good - but what really matters is the everyday interaction, knowing someone is there supporting you after a rough day at the office or just surprising with a candle in the meat pie on a Monday night.

Don´t just plan a BIG campaign, also remember that small gestures can be what really matters and make people love you.

Augmented reality - blends Internet with Life

I realise I have totally missed a super exciting trend: the augmented reality! I found the term too complicated and technical (ie not for me) so I shut my ears, and since I don´t use iphone (too long nails) the new world has completely passed by unnoticed. What about you? You probably know about this already, but I need to tell you because I´m so thrilled :)  

In short, this GPS based 'thing' helps you blend reality with virtual. It brings the brilliance of Internet to your everyday world and the other way around. Foursquare is augmented reality, as are applications like bar code scanning, product shape scans and audio input recognition.

In November 2010 one of my loved brands H&M (Swedish, stylish, cheap xxx) teamed up with GoldRun  to launch a scavenger hunt promotional campaign. Users who download the application will be able to participate in a scavenger hunt to collect virtual goods. For example, H&M provides a list of items and users are asked take pictures in order to collect virtual items. The user then receives credit for the virtual item. Collected items may also be shared through social media, such as Facebook. Enough collected items may be converted into real-world rewards, such as 10% off the next H&M purchase.

eBay has released a new augmented reality application for location-based shopping. The application utilizes a devices' internal GPS and camera to generate listings based on eBay's classifieds section. When a user walks down a street, the application will continue to update and generate listings based on search filters and the user's physical direction. Users can also tap on item pictures to see a complete item description and contact information.

 

From Wikipedia:
"Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input, such as sound or graphics. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality. By contrast, virtual reality replaces the real-world with a simulated one.
Augmentation is conventionally in real-time and in semantic context with environmental elements, such as sports scores on TV during a match. With the help of advanced AR technology (e.g. adding computer vision and object recognition) the information about the surrounding real world of the user becomes interactive and digitally manipulable. Artificial information about the environment and its objects can be overlaid on the real world."

More examples on this site from Simon Mainwaring, an 'idea geek' as he calls himself :)
http://simonmainwaring.com/brands/the-experience-revolution-how-augmented-reality-is-about-to-change-how-you-live-advertise-and-brand/

I can´t wait to use this for one of my clients. As long as we don´t get caught in technology and still focus on emotional connections with consumers based on them rather than iphone apps, we are onto something and can use the new to bring life to products and services, tickle the target´s senses and make brands look cool.

Fertile women don´t call their dads

As a strategist I am naturally curious about human behaviour (or maybe I am a strategist because of that...) and even if some phenomenons are not directly related to a certain target group, they will still be of interest. Who knows what kind of insights you can get by just observing, absorbing without having your mind set on "how can I sell skincare, detergent or chocolate to this group of people". 

For example, I find it fascinating how hormones change our behaviour. For example, women instinctively shun their fathers when they are most fertile. University of Miami study checked phone records of 48 women in their reproductive years, noting the date and duration of all phone calls with their fathers, and mothers over the course of a billing period. They found that women called their dads less frequently the days when they were ovulating, and would hang up sooner if their dads called them. Overall daughters were half as likely to ring their fathers during high-fertility days compared with the period of menstruation, and when they did call their conversations lasted about half as long. (The Week Dec 2010)

Another study showed that strippers who are ovulating get on average $70 tips per hour, while those who are menstruating make $35. Those who are not either ovulating or menstruating make $50. Women who are ovulating say their partners are more loving and attentive towards them and, significantly more jealous of other men.

Once again: Do not judge people out of geography, age brackets or income. The guy who ticks all the boxes is not always the one who gets your juices flowing... Crete customer chemistry by knowing more, listening more carefully and seeing your "target" as humans.

Sex does not sell brands - it just sells sex

Advertisers have increasingly been using sex as a way to get shoppers attention. In the early 90’s one percent of magazine ads contained implicit sexual activity, but a decade later so called “veiled depictions of intercourse” had risen to 17 percent. The percentage of sexily dressed women increased during the same period from 28 to 40 while the number of men in varying states of nudity rose from 11 to 18 percent.

Sex is becoming a popular way to lure and motivate customers. According to a study presented in Martin Lindstrom’s “Buyology”, sex doesn’t help brands sell anyway. When men see ads with sexy women they focus so much on breasts that they bypass the brand name, logo and other information. Only 9.8 percent of those who had viewed ads with sexual content were able to remember the correct brand or product, compared to almost 20 percent of men who had seen the nonsexual ads. This effect was replicated among women too – only 10.85 percent remembered the correct brand or product featured in the sexual ads, whereas 22.3 percent recalled the brand or product in the ones with neutral content.

The more provocative or sexual the women rated the model’s expression and clothes, the more bored or disinterested the women were by the ad. On the other hand, the more wholesome, natural, un-made-up, and clothed the models were, the more positive the women’s reactions.

Of course, we can’t tell if their actions (to buy or not to buy) will be influenced by their opinions rather than, driven by their subconscious thoughts and emotions, so we can’t be sure of the relevance of this survey. Perhaps it´s the case that we say we want the models to look like us, but still buy products promoted by people who look like our dream picture? This may be so, but since this study is supported by a number of others, with similar results, it seems likely that it accurately portrays current reality.

This view is further supported by a 2001 survey by the market research company Market Facts which showed that people were more likely to buy an advertised product if it showed images of “love” (53 percent) than if it showed images that alluded to sex (26 percent).

Studies done by professor Arjun Chaudhuri at Fairfield University showed that appealing to reptilian emotions – impulses from the reptilian brain, like sex, aggression, envy and power – was most effective in moderate amounts. Too much or too little made the ad less effective. Reptilian emotions led to people liking the ad, but had no effect on buying, indicating that people liked the sexy photos but not the brand itself.

Chaudhuri also found that sexual ads became less effective if the viewer had to think and use their cognitive sense – their brain – in relation to the ad. In other words, you could place ads with sexual content in leisure magazines, but if they are shown on a website for world news, they will lose their shine.

This post is taken from my book "Love Branding" that you can get your hands on by going to http://www.love-branding.com/ Enjoy :)

TV is one of the strongest players - spreading to handsets all over the world

Yesterday I had the pleasure to preview the first episode of channel ten´s Biggest Loser Australia, and I was stoked! Such an amazing show, bringing us insights of how different people are. Some sit on the couch and eat all day, some have been brought up in broken families and are forever seeing themselves as victims, others eat salads and run around 24-7. Some train hard, others never. Some cry, some laugh. Some are happy, some are not. TV is excellent in bringing us stories that makes us feel for our peers, see beyond the surface and tap into the emotional and physical life of our neighbours. TV used in a smart way humbles and amplifies the love in the world.

According to Ad Age Insights' white paper, Global Media Habits 2010, by Greg Lindsay, TV is one of the 10 trends that are shaping media consumption in traditional and emerging media markets.
1) Even relatively poor populations now consider TV a necessity.
In 2010, nearly half of Indian households have TV, up from less than one-third in 2001. But in urban areas, that figure jumps to 96%. (Compare that to 7% of Indians who use the internet.) In Kenya, the TV-penetration rate rose from roughly 60% to 70% from 2005 to 2009.

2) Despite the internet, we're watching more TV, not less.
The average American watched 280 minutes of TV each day in 2009, more than four-and-a-half-hours worth and a three-minute increase compared to the year before. A similar rise can be seen around the world, where the average human being watched three hours and 12 minutes worth of TV a day.

3) What is the world watching? Football, 'American Idol'-like contests and telenovelas.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the most watched TV event in history, broadcast in every country (including North Korea). More than one-third of Afghanistan tunes into "Afghan Star," that country's version of "American Idol." And Brazil's Globo network has broadcast locally produced soap operas since the 1970s, many of which reach 80 million viewers.

4) The U.S. and Western Europe are losing newspaper circulation, but the rest of the world is experiencing a newspapers boom.
In both number of titles and circulation, Asia, Africa and Latin America are climbing at an annual double-digit pace. And China and India are now home to nearly half the world's top 100 dailies, with the average newspaper boasting a circulation of 109,000 or more. In India alone, the number of paid dailies has surged by 44%, to 2,700 titles since 2005, accounting for more than one-fifth of all newspaper titles on the planet.

5) Here's why you need to keep an eye on Facebook.
When it comes to time spent on the site, Facebook crushes all rivals, with six hours vs. less than half that time for every other site in the top 10. Facebook's user base is 517 million, 70% of whom live outside the U.S.

6) Cyber cafes are the entry for emerging market populations to get online.
The innovation of "cyber cafés" has helped spread internet use in emerging markets. In South Korea, people can rent broadband access for roughly 80 cents an hour, eliminating the need for costly monthly subscriptions, and leading to Koreans' embrace of social networking and multiplayer online gaming.

7) BRIC leads for online video consumption.
Brazil, Russia, India, China and Indonesia are home to the most avid consumers of online video. Internet users in China and Indonesia, for example, were 26% more likely than the average user globally to watch online video, while Indian viewers were 21% more likely and both Russians and Brazilians were 11% more likely. Increasingly, the internet will become TV. In 2009, one third of all internet traffic was video. This year, that figure will climb to 40%, on its way to a projected 91% by 2014, according to Cisco.

8) Internet usage and penetration rates are hobbled by access costs. Mobile isn't.
Only 81 million Indians (7% of the population) use the internet, but six times as many (507 million) have mobile phones. The same pattern is playing out worldwide. Witness PC vs. mobile penetration rates for China (20% vs. 57%); India (4% vs. 41%); Brazil (32% vs. 86%); and Indonesia (5% vs. 66%).

9) Netbooks, e-readers, tablets will drive growth of internet use.
The proliferation of new screens, netbooks, e-readers and tablets is expected to quadruple global IP traffic by 2014, according to Cisco. By then, the equivalent of 12 billion DVDs will be criss-crossing online monthly. The biggest growth driver is video -- data-rich 3D and HD streams delivered to computers, TV sets and to phones, which will lead global mobile traffic to double every year for the foreseeable future.

10) For the foreseeable future, the forecast for the planet's media habits is in a word, more.
Time spent with computers has tripled over the past decade among kids age 8 to 18. The bulk of this group's time is spent on social media, followed by games, video sites and instant messaging. The average kid packs a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes worth of media content into a daily seven and a half hours of media exposure. Just think how this group will consume media in 10 years when they enter the work world and start consuming in earnest.

Health boom - to be considered by strategists, says Mark Pollard

On the interesting Facebook page "Life. Then strategy" where communication strategists from different companies share their thoughts, Mark Pollard today writes about "10 strategies for a strategists career" http://www.markpollard.net/10-strategies-for-a-strategists-career-right-now/. Inspiring read, as always. One of the strategies mentioned was to focus on health, which is interesting idea not just for strategists, but for everyone who does marketing. He writes:

"Health is going to be a massive topic in the coming years. Obesity epidemics everywhere, Walmart changing some of its food practices with a push from Michelle Obama, sustainability issues growing and growing, the cost of healthcare and hospitals, huge pharmaceutical industry patents ending in the coming years… there is a perfect storm brewing.

From an advertising point of view, I don’t find much of the health-related communications very insightful or creative. Talking heads, Getty Images, former actors, ‘dial now for this incredible deal’, snake oil stuff and so on.


So, not only is there this perfect storm brewing but there are few really strong communicators in this space.

Further, health is pretty broad. Sure, you have pharma, alternative health, fitness, food, supplements, government but there will be a growing trend in the corporate world of trying to make companies healthier for their employees (so that they’re more productive and stick around longer).


Big opportunities here."

I remember ten years ago, when we started writing about health as a trend back in Sweden, so to say this topic is new is to be a bit narrow-minded :) but I guess it is getting more diverse. It´s not just about fat-free and going to the gym anymore. Health is about taking a holistic view, looking into learnings from Caroline Myss, Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra and Louise Hay - wise people who see health as a mindset rather than a physicl issue. Sickness is a result of emotional issues, they say, and every negative thought gets stuck in your cells, genes and blood. This is why you can cure your body by forcing your mind to re-think.

Einstein taught us that everything is energy, hence we are all one... Still we get stuck in the thought of materialistic individualism and us being separated entities. We are not. Life is more magical than that. I read in New Scientist last week that DNA can travel through water. It´s almost like beeming!!!

I welcome this trend, because I thin it will set people free. Thoughts are powerful and contagious - they move from our brains to our words to our bodies, from human to human, from soul to soul. This is how I see it:

Happy Family is the new status symbol

My old colleagues at United Minds in Sweden has spotted a "housewife trend", where Gen Y are having children at younger age than previous generations, stopping and turning the trend where people were getting married and becoming parents at older and older age. 'Family' is the new signal of success.

Mats Lindgren at Kairos Future tells Swedish media that high status in Sweden is to have 4 kids, excellent careers, a beautiful garden and domestic bliss overall. To be perfect in ALL areas.

My former boss, the brilliant Marie Söderqvist Tralau from United Minds, says this housewife nostalgica trend can be exhausting - but that is why it has such high status. If you are able to juggle it all, you show the world you are ''über human" - hence better than others. She means this is why the big families in Sweden still resist paying for a nanny, since that would be cheating. YOU are getting judged on what YOU do. At least accepting help or paying for services is something you keep a secret. 

I believe this "housewife on steroids" trend may be stronger in Sweden, where women are more equal and being just a housewife - i.e. skipping the career part - would be seen as odd. But it is interesting that status today is not about job titles, money or having a hot body, nice car or to cook lovely dinners. It is all of the above - with focus on Family!

We often talk about how Gen Y are obsessed about friends, but this is a generation that rather spend time with their partner than their friends. Young people were also asked to rate what activities they would most like to immerse themselves in. From that, 35% of 18-24 year olds rated in a Synnovate survey spending time with their boyfriend/girlfriend as top interest, followed by meeting friends in person (32%).

Gen Y have been brought up in a world where families break apart, where mums and dads get a divorce and where you can have 3 dads and 1 mum and they could all act like they were the ones sitting at the kids table, while the calmer and more responsible Gen Y´s save up to get a mortgage and some order. It´s natural that we see a generation found of getting married. Happily married.