What is Google telling your customers about you?

When someone wants to know more about a product or service, especially high consideration products, they often go straight to Google to see what the web has to say about it. That’s because, while your website may have a lot of great things to say, people expect marketing speak on a corporate site and therefore don’t really value it as a trusted source of information.  They do however trust Google to give a more broad, somewhat unbiased, view of whatever they are searching for.

As a marketer and understanding how people turn to Google, I am often amazed at how few companies take the time to Google the name of their own company and see what pops up on the first page of results.

CashforGold made this mistake a few months ago when they ran their high priced Super Bowl ads.  They have since started cleaning up their online reputation, but at the time, the first page Google results had some pretty negative things to say about the company.  That’s a lot of money to spend on an ad, only to have it shot down on the Google results page.

With the huge growth of social media, people will have access to even more information and opinions about a products and company then ever before.  And Google never forgets.  Its important more than ever that companies are aware of what is being said about them and their products on the internet.  It takes a proactive approach to keep up.

Companies should also understand that marketing programs, both online and offline, need to work together.  They need to function as a whole to accomplish the overall objectives.  Work to find a balance, because focusing one and forgetting others, may prove disastrous.

And if you haven’t Google your company lately, do it now.

One of our favorite types of clients is B2B technology for a few of reasons.

1. There is always a differentiator of some type.  Delivering certain functionality means trade-offs were made in development.
2. The focus is often on lead generation which is quite measurable.
3. The decision process is made by a natural community where numerous points of interaction exist.

Our approach is to understand who would be most interested in your product’s advantage and then surround that conversation network with the appropriate proof points.

Technology is not omnipotent, there are always weaknesses to be found in the category leader.   For instance databases may optimize for transaction processing or ecommerce platforms may focus on branded sites.  These decisions allow new entrants to damn them with faint praise while they focus on analytics or supporting multiple channels.

The ultimate marketing objective with any company is to clearly understand the value proposition, positioning, and personality of the brand.  These three elements define the sweet spot and can be defined as follows.

• Value Proposition: states in financial terms what the buyer is getting from a product.
• Positioning: defines the market and offers the proof points as to why the product is the right choice
• Personality: outlines the manner in which the company and product portray itself.

These are not engineering issues or ‘build it and they will come’ but rather branding concepts that underpin the most succesful companies.  They answer: “Why is this product important to me?”

Good agencies employ great storytellers. Good stories capture attention, build trust and credibility, and often evoke an emotional response, all worthy goals of any marketing communication. In Seth Godin’s book, All Marketers are Liars, he adds credence to this argument in suggesting that effective marketers don’t talk about features and benefits, but rather they tell compelling stories — stories people want to believe.

Good storytellers develop a deep, rehearsed understanding of the key elements to be masterfully woven together and delivered in engaging fashion. Good marketers immerse themselves in the products and services offered by their clients. This intimate understanding teaches the skilled marketer the key messages she will use in communicating the client’s story. The master storyteller knows well  her audience. This knowledge is used to shape and cater the story. While speaking from a common platform, the storyteller is adept at catering and delivering her message in terms with which the audience can easily and personally relate.

During this past presidential campaign this concept was on display almost daily. Famously, Joe the Plumber became the hero of John McCain’s story to America. The candidates shaped their stories to appeal to diverse groups such as unions, corporate executives, coal miners, and even Hollywood, while the platform or underlying message remained largely intact. To a citizenry feeling unprecedented concern about their future, a simple story of change was compelling enough to make history in this country.

When the master storyteller delivers the right story to the right audience, the results are often powerful and memorable.

 So, savvy marketer, tell stories about the impact going back to school will have on the lives of those that do. Tell stories about protecting those you love most with a security system. Tell stories about the sheer joy and escape of spending Saturday afternoons on the lake in a new boat. Hey, it may not be Moby Dick, but told well these stories will generate a whale (sorry, I had to) of a response.

One final note about storytelling. A wise mentor once taught me that good advertising is often about telling only half of the story. You tell the whole story upfront and you’ve taken away my incentive to ask “what comes next” and then follow up to find out (the coveted response part of advertising). The half told tale is the tool of the master storyteller.

Salt Lake City was just named “Fittest City in the United States” by Men’s Health magazine. Besides the obvious explanation that a representative from Men’s Health magazine must have seen me hard at work in the gym, I can’t help but wonder if Salt Lake City is being led by example.

Located just north of Salt Lake City is one of Studeo’s prized clients; ICON Health & Fitness. ICON is the world’s largest developer, manufacturer and marketer of fitness equipment with brands like Nordic Track, Pro-Form, Weider, Reebok and Gold’s Gym. However, ICON’s dedication does not solely rest in their manufacturing but also in their dedication to the local community.

The mission statement for ICON Health and Fitness is “Changing lives with fitness innovation.” Locally, ICON delivers on this mission with generous donations stretching from treadmills to strength equipment, all in an attempt to make the state more fit.

If ICON Health & Fitness is doing their part and seeing a direct correlation to the health and wellness of Salt Lake City, what can we do in the advertising world to better the community in which we do business?

ICON is a beautiful depiction of a company who truly leads by example and also enjoys “success” - on the side.

I know customers appreciate it when we develop campaigns that reflect how they perceive the world, not how we or our clients would like them to.

On the radio this morning I heard a radio spot for a local restaurant (The Mayan) that started with:  The food here “sucks” - yes they used s-word.    The spot went on to say that while they had great ambiance and quick service the food didn’t live up to expectations.  So they fired the chef.  Yes, they said that too.

Since perceptions are a very hard thing to change this spot goes right to the heart of the matter:  “The reason you stopped coming is because we failed to deliver on our promise. In fact we sucked.”   In essence they said we heard you (listening is good) and we’re changing.

Too bad they didn’t take this all the way to the website - it contains standard restaurant fare including a PDF of the menu.   They should have started a contest - tell us which items suck and why you’d get rid of it.   That would have been a completely integrated campaign.

We’ll need to check back in a bit and see how its changed.

For those of us in the marketing and advertising business the super bowl presents a unique opportunity to talk about a collection of ads that have come to represent the best we can collectively offer.   Fans vote them up and down on a multitude of sites, e.g. www.adbowl.com, pundits pund, and peeps tweet on #superads.

So, here’s a different take:  which ads delivered on various aspects of marketing?

In no particular order, but we should probably create categories like the Oscars or Grammy’s.

• Differentiating -  Bridgestone.  By making tires cool in Taters and Hot Item they set  themselves from your mother’s tires (safety).
• Clear Value  Proposition - Vizio:   While it might not have been the best venue for this kind of ad, it made absolutely clear that when you’re looking at TVs this brand should be in the consideration set.
• Gratuitous Use of  Sex - Go Daddy, again, with the enhancement ad.  The shower ad was  stronger and tied with their base and product.
• Entertaining To  Watch: Coke’s Heist; brand work at its finest.
• Signs of the Time  (Dust Bowl): Hyundai’s continuous use of the Assurance campaign to tap into  our uncertainty and put it at rest
• Brand Essence:  Pepsi’s Refresh campaign of transitioning it from one age group to the next.  The new logo that looks remarkably similar to the Obama style probably isn’t  an accident.
• Missed the Mark:  Monster and Career Builder.   With unemployment rolls at record levels they had a wonderful opportunity to help people find their next  job.  Instead, they enticed people with jobs to find a better one - and  we know that those currently employed are more likely to get the offer than those unemployed.   Good in boom times; not so sure today.
• Truth in Advertising: Hulu for admitting that this stuffs rots your brains, now you can do it where ever.
• Best Offer: Denny’s  Serious about breakfast; give everyone in America a taste of what it should be.
• Crossover -  Cash4Gold for breaking the barrier. The super bowl was once the domain of ‘big brands’.   Now that direct response has entered the mix, what’s next?
• Victimizing -  TeleFlora, there shouldn’t be victims in your ads.  The woman who received flowers shouldn’t be made to feel like a heel just because somebody cared.
• Repositioning - G.  The nikesque Talking Heads put style into the effort, not just carb  replacements.
  
• Continuity - AB for the Clydesdales; there’s comfort in the sameness.
  

In most cases, “Art” has had a profound effect on those who ultimately chose a career in marketing or advertising. Arts education, beginning as early as elementary school, sparks the creative conduit that is so critical in the minds of young children.

Beverley Taylor Sorenson knows this well. As the founder of art works for kids! Beverley has spent the majority of her life setting these creative wildfires. She believes that children should not only learn how to spell xylophone but learn how to play the xylophone.

Studeo has started working with art works for kids! While our hearts have been warmed by hundreds of children involved with the program, we are also finding powerful stories from soccer moms to CEO’s.

This poses the some interesting questions:
1. How are you better today because of arts education?
2. What are the surprising benefits of exploring creativity in elementary school?
3. How much better are the Three R’s (reading, writing, arithmetic) when augmented by the Arts?

To find out more about art works for kids! you can visit www.artworksforkids.org