CharlieMoger.com

Marketing and advertising advice for owner-operated businesses

What is your why in 2010?

As credits roll on 2009, before the lights come up and we move on to a new year, I suggest you answer this question: What is your why?

Next week gyms will be crowded, sporting goods stores will be sold out of workout togs. Many a diet will begin. Noble efforts every one of them; too many will fade and fail. Without an adequate why, the how has nothing to steady it when winds of resistance and same-old-same-old blow.

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there”
–Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland.

Where will 2010 take your business and you?

Why before How is a principle every bit as important to your bottom-line as it is your waistline.Whether it be business practice or marketing initiative, failure to define your why in ten words or less that you can recall without effort will put the odds against your success.

Just like gyms and sporting goods stores, office supply stores will be a buzz with anxious buyers of organizational tools next week too. Every team is in first place on opening day and 1/1/10 seems a ripe time to embrace the latest organizational method.

Change comes from the most unlikely places

I can’t complain. You might not be reading these words had a man I worked for about 25 years ago not given Franklin Dayplanners to his employees as Christmas gifts. Many scoffed at the idea. I took it to heart.

After two weeks of listening to Hyrum Smith explain his system to identify and integrate my guiding principles, I found a why beckoning me to get into radio sales. That why led me to become top billing rep at a major station, then tops in the market, then out to start the firm I run today. Why? Exactly. Because I knew my why.

Your why may not be what you expect

Guy Kawasaki makes an excellent point: instead of merely making money, what if we all set out this year to make meaning in our businesses? Invest a couple minutes to watch and consider his suggestion. 2010 could be just another year of the same, or an explosive 12 months–if you’re willing to connect with and follow your why.

Sponsors in the weeds on Woods

Building a brand on the back of a celebrity is only slightly less risky than juggling chainsaws. One bad move and it’s a bad day. Accenture PLC saw trouble enough for their brand in Tiger Woods’ bad press to find an exit. But, Tag Heuer and Nike Golf are staying in the game–so far.

Endorser issues are not purely the domain of mega-stars like Tiger Woods. A local media celebrity endorser can be just as risky for you. Deciding to stay or go is a tough call. How these big brands handle the heat can help should problems fire up for you.

PR consultant Peter Himler takes a look at what may be ahead for the world’s top golfer–and his sponsors:

Give your brand a safe exit

Having a morals clause in personality endorsement agreements gives you a safe exit in the event your endorser’s personal life takes an unexpected turn that diminishes his value, or runs the risk of dragging your brand through the mud. As with any agreement, starting with the end in mind is the wise path.

What would be the tipping point for you? Would you still be hanging tough with Tiger Woods? Or, would you have hitched a ride with Accenture PLC?

UPDATE:

Time may heal some wounds, but it has done little to soothe sponsor concerns where Mr. Woods is concerned. AT&T is severing its ties with Tiger owing to the continued public reaction to the golfer’s alleged marital infidelities. Gillette also announced it will sharply limit Woods’ role in its branding efforts.

Nike, Upper Deck and Tag Heuer, meanwhile, have pledged to stand by Woods. The watch maker is, however, dialing back his presence in ads.

My gut: Save for the release of even more allegations, the worst has passed for Woods. His silence and continued absence from golf will only stoke interest in his ultimate return. No news is good news for Woods and his sponsors.

Do you listen hard to be heard?

You speak with your mother differently than with your kids. You order a steak at Morton’s differently than a burger in the drive-thru. It’s context and agenda: right words, right place.

Same goes for your advertising: Contextual sensitivity in your advertising speaks a level of understanding beyond words: listen how customers are listening and speak to it.

Speak to everyone, no one hears you.

This came charging home this week while working on a series of ads for a new client. We’re advertising to commercial and residential customers. Within those, there’s repair, replacement, and new product sales. I’m creating six new ads that will replace ONE.

Over-stuffing is a common advertising blunder. Ads that were born focused become muddled by having one more thing after another weaseled into them. The fatter the message, the less muscle, the less impact.

Advertising works to the degree it answers the question of an engaged listeners mind. A homeowner wouldn’t ask about easy online ordering or job site delivery. A builder isn’t wondering about 24-hour repair response.

One question. One answer.  One size fits all sells no one.

One message, many angles of approach

Being heard is the responsibility of the speaker. To understand their listening, pay attention to where your customers are coming from: what matters to them, what are they trying to accomplish, where are they in the buying cycle. Communicating to specific listening determines if you’ll be heard.

While some customers want it Joe Friday fast: just the facts, others love to bond before trusting you with their money. Even others are simply ready to buy and don’t need to be sold. How well do you speak to each of them?

Wizard of Ads Partner Dave Young demonstrates the one message point clearly in a presentation he made to the Wyoming Governor’s Conference on Tourism:

Be a customer for a moment. Think about your last satisfactory buying experience. Did they listen first? Did they respond in a way that made you feel heard?

If you were in a hurry, they got you through quickly. If you wanted to linger and learn, they  demonstrated and discussed. They identified your listening and spoke to it. Good advertising works the same way.

Let’s play a game

Here’s a game you can play with advertising: next time you encounter an over-stuffed “attention everyone” ad, see how many different ads you could make from it. Better yet, share your answers here. I’m betting we can run up big numbers.

When reaching the “wrong people” is the right idea

Comcast touts their pending deal, giving them control of NBC/Universal, as good news for advertisers seeking to better target customers. It’s the same argument that no doubt gave birth to All-You-Can-Eat buffets: more is better. Truth is, quantity seldom increases quality. Strategic targeting doesn’t compensate for lack of a compelling message.

Your message is everything

What this ratchet-click of media consolidation means to you: it’s more important than ever to get your message right. Where it runs will matter less. Good ads connect. Get caught up in  targeting and you’ll fall victim to one of the 12 Most Common Mistakes in Advertising. And, here’s Comcast touting it as a primary benefit of their pending union. Go figure.

Test your message: How well do your ads….

  • capture attention by interrupting the expected
  • connect with the felt-need of your customer
  • close loopholes that undermine your credibility
  • communicate an authentic call to action

Run campaigns scoring high on these four points and targeting becomes less critical.

Even if you don’t reach the so-called “target,” a well-crafted message reaches relatives, friends, associates, or others with decision-making influence. Since we tend to trust the word of a friend above advertising, that’s a big win–even bigger than Comcast’s coming one-stop targeting shop

Dark side of Comcast’s NBC deal

Unless there’s been a Saul-to-Paul conversion I’ve not read about, Comcast is a poster child of legacy media-think. That’s bad news for the likes of Hulu.

Comcast’s current online television offering, Fancast, requires you first be a cable subscriber. Unless you’re a Comcast cable subscriber, don’t try popping on Fancast to watch your favorite show. How’s that going to mix with Hulu’s current free advertising-driven model? Not a match made in media heaven. Thankfully we advertise here on earth where results matter more than calculations of consolidated reach.

Whether the consolidation of NBC/Universal content engine with Comcast’s delivery pipeline is an advertising blessing or curse will be revealed over time.  Comcast’s efforts to focus our gaze at the growing platter of targeting options in its right hand leaves me wondering what lurks in their pesky left.

Grooveyard of posts past