How To Create Meaningful Marketing: The Next Evolution of Marketing

In The Next Evolution of Marketing, Bob Gilbreath describes an alternative approach to marketing called “marketing with meaning”, in which marketing becomes a product or service in of itself that people choose to engage with. Gilbreath provides a ton of examples of how marketers can create marketing that is meaningful, like Nike’s social network for runners that tracks member’s runs and Charmin providing luxury restrooms in Times Square. While some marketers have been trying to invent “innovative” advertising that cuts through the clutter, meaningful marketers creates marketing that adds value to people’s lives.

Some advantages of meaningful marketing are that consumers are more willing to listen to your message, it often drives word of mouth and attracts media attention, and it can build loyalty beyond reason. It can also improve attitudes about your company and I think people tend to reciprocate when brands improve their lives with marketing.

I think this is a valuable read for marketers and was one of the best marketing books of 2009 (full disclosure: I received a review copy). I like that it provides tons of examples and also goes into depth on how to implement a meaningful marketing campaign, including how to get key people in the company to sign on and how to work with creatives. If you are in B2B or small business, know that this book focuses on B2C and has few examples outside of B2C, but I think the concepts are transferable and useful.

Here are some of my takeaways from reading this book:

Create an information resource as marketing
Gibreath writes “The Web offers marketers a significant opportunity to help people uncover whatever it is they want to know, whenever they want to know it…Companies that provide answers to our endless information needs have a great shot at earning a steady stream of interested customers.”

Home Depot offered free courses on home improvement after they had the insight that people were skeptical of commercials showing people doing home improvements on their own. Blue Nile provides buying guides on their site that educate guys about jewelry, highly-sought out information for men buying important high-ticket items. And Sony created an online learning center called Sony 101, providing education on topics from digital photography to HDTV’s.

Lower the risk of switching by offering samples
If you have ever shopped at Costco and been able to have a full meal from the free samples alone, you know the value that samples can have for people. Samples can also lower the perceived risks and cost to consumers of trying new things.

Gilbreath writes “According to a survey conducted in February 2007 by the Promotion Marketing Association, nine out of ten consumers say that they would purchase a good or service if they experienced it and were satisfied”.

Cause marketing can be a strong differentiator
Gilbreath writes “A 2008 Cone/Duke University Behavioral Cause Study showed that a whopping 87 percent of consumers will switch from one brand to another that’s comparable based on its association with a good cause – that’s up 31 percent since 1993.” This is compelling evidence that associating your brand with a worthy cause can be a strong differentiator. An example is Yoplait’s pink caps that support breast cancer research.

Keep business objectives in mind when creating meaningful marketing
Some marketing efforts have been hugely successful in generating buzz and adding value to people’s lives, but have failed to achieve any business objectives. An example of this from the book is Office Max’s Elf Yourself. Despite tons of media coverage and millions of people who made elf videos of their family members, many people couldn’t recall which major office supply store was behind the campaign.

Customer service is extremely important for retention
Studies suggest that customer service is the main reason people switch brands across every major industry. An Accenture study found 67 percent had switched brands because of poor service taking an average of $4,000 of business with them.

This article has been republished from Cool Marketing Stuff.

Buyology: Can Brain Scans Provide More Accurate Insights Into Consumer Behavior?

by Charles Sipe

Buyology is an interesting book because it describes a completely new approach to marketing research. Instead of traditional methods of research such as surveys, or focus groups, Buyology explores a new frontier in marketing research, neuromarketing.

Specifically, Martin Lindstrom, describes scientific studies in which subject’s brains are scanned to see what parts of their brain lights up when exposed to certain marketing stimuli such as a brand logo or an advertisement. When different regions of our brain are active, the increased energy requirement means an increased flow of oxygenated blood to that region, which the fMRI can detect and display in a visual format. Lindstrom uses data from these studies to disprove commonly held beliefs in advertising, such as the effectiveness of subliminal advertising and that warning labels on smoking packaging can actually encourage smoking.

According to the book, roughly 90% of consumer buying behavior is unconscious, which is part of the reason Lindstrom believes nueromarketing can a more effective method to find out what consumers really want and reduce the number of product failures.

“Markers and advertisers on the other hand have spent over a century, throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping it will stick. The fact is that most marketing, advertising branding strategies is a guessing game…Until now marketers and advertisers haven’t really known what drives our behavior so they’ve had to rely on luck, coincidence, chance, or repeating the same old tricks all over again. But now that we know that roughly 90% of our consumer buying behavior is unconscious, the time has come for a paradox shift.”

I think this book is a very interesting read, though it is difficult for most marketers to implement fMRI studies without thousands or millions of dollars to spend on this new field of marketing. However, it looks very promising, as marketing becomes more science and numbers driven in the future.

You can download a free chapter of Buyology at the Martin Lindstrom website.

Obsessive Branding Disorder

by John Moore

Lucas Conley’s Obsessive Branding Disorder book is receiving some nice media attention. And for good reason … it’s well-written and provocative.

Conley’s book began as a Fast Company essay from Oct. 2005. He’s since beefed up the premise and added in lots of relevant and unique case study examples.

For the cynical marketing crowd, which includes me, this book will be right in your wheelhouse as it delves deep into the superficial side of the arts and sciences of modern branding.

To give you a taste of Conley’s take, below is my trademark pending WHAT ? — SO WHAT? — WHAT NOW? summary of Obsessive Branding Disorder. (Just kiddin’ on the trademark-pending quip. Tom Ehrenfeld is the rightful owner of this idea.)
WHAT?
“Branding is corrupting our culture by heralding emotion over reason, surface over core substance, and packaging over experience.” (p. 197)

“More than marketing, advertising, or positioning, branding is an all-in-one ideology—a facile reduction malleable enough to govern all facets of modern business.” (p. 5)

“By abandoning the trusty, dusty principles of business—innovative products, good service, solid management—for the idealism of branding, companies reveal the true escapist appeal of their new religion.” (p. 10)

SO WHAT?
“Successful, enduring brands are either truly innovative and outstanding or a great value. They have never needed much advertising. They don’t have to reinvigorate their employees with brand-morale building or rely shamelessly on empty company taglines. Their products fulfill the legitimate purpose of the brand.” (p. 64)

“But the effect of … [obsessive] branding has been a steady erosion in the public’s trust.” (p. 110)

“The world is cheapened when everyone sees it with a marketer’s eye. We lose trust for each other and grow skeptical of one another as we try to determine what we’re being sold. We become more isolated and more self-conscious, more prone to rely on brands for status and to ally ourselves with other brand loyalists for company.” (p. 199)

WHAT NOW?
“To combat this obsessive branding disorder, we must acknowledge that we will always have brands—they are an inevitable medium for communication and commerce.” (p. 201)

“But if we acknowledge that we must rely on brands to some degree, and if we keep our focus on the products rather than the promotions, we can begin to extricate ourselves from a world of brand churches, tribes, and religion.” (p. 202)

“Run a good business and your brand will follow.” (from Lucas’ Oct. 2005 Fast Company essay)

This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.

Top 10 Marketing Books of 2008 for Executives

While there may not have been any breakthrough marketing books in 2008 like a Long Tail or Tipping Point, there were some good thought provoking reads. Here are ten of the best marketing books from 2008.

10. Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are by Rob Walker

9. Impact: How to Get Noticed, Motivate Millions, and Make a Difference in a Noisy World by Ken McArthur

8. Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition by Guy Kawasaki

7. Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman7.

6. Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff

5. The Brand Bubble: The Looming Crisis in Brand Value and How to Avoid It by John Gerzema, Edward Lebar, and Peter Stringham

4. Answering the Ultimate Question: How Net Promoter Can Transform Your Business by Richard Owen and Laura L., PhD Brooks

3. Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy by Martin Lindstrom

2. Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin

1. Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely

Here are some more intriguing marketing titles you may not have heard of but may be worth checking out.

Always On: Advertising, Marketing, and Media in an Era of Consumer Control by Naomi S. Baron

The Customer Loyalty Solution by Arthur Middleton Hughes

Brand Storming: Managing Brands in the Era of Complexity by Garry Titterton and Michele Fioroni

Pain Killer Marketing: How to Turn Customer Pain into Market Gain by Henry Devries, Chris Stiehll

Obsessive Branding Disorder: The Illusion of Business and the Business of Illusion by Lucas Conley

33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence, and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking by Juliette Powell

The Four Pillars of Profit-Driven Marketing: How to Maximize Creativity, Accountability, and ROI by Leslie Moeller and Edward Landry

Beyond Price by Mary Kay Plantes and Robert D. Finfrock

Accidental Branding: How Ordinary People Build Extraordinary Brands by David Vinjamuri

Prove It before You Promote It: How to Take the Guesswork Out of Marketing by Steve Cuno and Michael, PhD Shermer

Secrets of Social Media Marketing: How to Use Online Conversations and Customer Communities to Turbo-Charge Your Business! by Paul Gillin

Are there any 2008 marketing books that you recommend or think were left off the list?

Seth Godin’s New Book Tribes Inspires a New Kind of Marketing Leadership

In Seth Godin’s latest book, Tribes, he makes his usual attack on traditional thinking, this time on leadership. He describes how the internet makes it it easier than ever to build a tribe, or a following, around your business or your personal brand. Tools such as blogs and Twitter make it easier to attract people who are interested in what you have to say.

I think when people follow you by reading your blog or following you on Twitter, it builds powerful relationships with individuals who are more likely to buy your product or hire you to work for them. One example of this is the Obama campaign, which used Twitter to communicate with over a hundred thousand loyal followers. Obama’s campaign was able to utilize this relationship to their passionate followers to spread a message and encourage action, such as getting people to register to vote.

Seth argues that real leaders create change by challenging the status quo. He points out that our society works hard to prevent change but a lot of the best growth occurs when you’re not like most people. One of the most interesting insights that Godin makes is that a company can have a religion, not in the spiritual sense but rather as it relates to a set of practices that are followed because that’s the way things have always been done. Heretics are those that challenge the religion of the company and push for a new religion. A good leader is able to fight the social forces to keep things the same and lead change that will lead to growth. The creator of the Big Mac, was a franchise owner who broke the rules and created one of the most successful products in the company’s history. Being a heretic is not easy, but Seth says that is exactly what we need right now.

The book was heavy on inspiration and pretty light on substance, but I think the message is an important one. This is especially true when technological advances, demographic shifts, and global issues are rapidly changing the business environment. Companies can no longer settle for what has worked in the past, but must change their “religion” in order to adapt to the the changing landscape.