tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330828502024-03-14T00:20:51.280-07:00Madison Avenueby martin calleH. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.comBlogger333125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-62398749570508757422012-07-24T17:00:00.000-07:002012-07-24T17:00:41.201-07:00Is your product positioning "corn fed?"Is your product positioning "corn fed?" Why do I ask? If you've read Polan's The Omnivore's Dilemma then you already know cows don't eat corn. Cows eat grass. And if you try to make cows eat grass then 40% of the herd will die unless you feed the cows massive quantities of steroids, hormones and antibiotics to keep them alive.
A rancher in the eastern Sierras just passed me. On his bumper was a sticker that boasted "corn fed elk." Same thing. Elk don't eat corn. Elk eat grass. So like Clint Eastwood I must ask you: "Are you artificially stimulating the success of your product positioning strategy with massive infusions of cash and marketing support?"
This expenditure is exactly the same thing as infusing cattle or elk with artificial life inducing steroids, antibiotics and hormones. Want to get your consumer package good product (or a product in any other category for that matter) on a more beneficial grass fed positioning? Reply if interested.H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-45102601568488777882012-07-18T14:52:00.001-07:002012-07-18T16:02:22.077-07:00Coke Cannes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2uPRXw8G4KNWIQ_tGrRT4qQrBaTqYF6UvDTWquVo_fwgRGSF9E0mfRg0JM3Gj561P9D4keOfhZwjgkLGAFCScEjjsoXWvtckimPmXkTiBKwbBeQghi8TgqNIh9rdgpzHmb0Ct/s1600/Coke+Hands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2uPRXw8G4KNWIQ_tGrRT4qQrBaTqYF6UvDTWquVo_fwgRGSF9E0mfRg0JM3Gj561P9D4keOfhZwjgkLGAFCScEjjsoXWvtckimPmXkTiBKwbBeQghi8TgqNIh9rdgpzHmb0Ct/s200/Coke+Hands.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Across the globe, Coca-Cola is a harbinger of 'happiness'. Coke's messaging spreads bits of joy across multiple platforms. The happy ideas led Coca-Cola </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">to its most-awarded year in Cannes -- the brand took home 30 Lions. <a href="http://adage.com/article/creativity-50/coke-s-mildenhall-schunker-spreading-happiness/235864/#comments-103584">Coke Cannes</a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">How did Coke find happiness? By graduating our Extreme Product Makeovers Coke found that "a sale is a transfer of enthusiasm." Happiness promotes enthusiasm. Happiness promotes positive emotional response. But does happiness promote carbonated sales? True, Coke spreads Happiness and wins advertising awards but does happiness translate into sales for Coke?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">Happiness is not "It" for Coke. Happiness is a generic cost-of-entry parameter. Happiness is not 'ownable' - No matter how many impressions the company's corporate coffers cough up. The most highly consumer-desired product potential to use to reverse declines in carbonated beverage consumption is something else. There is a more powerful "Special User Effect" to better drive consumer habits and practices that can be owned. But nice work collecting the bling. Does anyone other than the agency take that to the bank?</span>H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-34585024519484136962012-03-21T13:49:00.000-07:002012-03-21T13:49:20.028-07:00The Strategy of Whiz Kids<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgLICWirrPQKmVELNPTNqZ9wHLSvBK37e6ybvlcbX3awuwsbp4Q65NXQVuCpgevcdeikv8uXQtTnWjGfQUb76c7EhFFe6pmXQtIFSHcieevuGbmPV8ObR2Tu_pKzOEjD9tsl3t/s1600/boxes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgLICWirrPQKmVELNPTNqZ9wHLSvBK37e6ybvlcbX3awuwsbp4Q65NXQVuCpgevcdeikv8uXQtTnWjGfQUb76c7EhFFe6pmXQtIFSHcieevuGbmPV8ObR2Tu_pKzOEjD9tsl3t/s200/boxes.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>My son wanted to know why competing orthodontists would set up their practices right next to each other. I had to admit that one never knows why decision makers pick one orthodontist over another. But my son's question prompted my to think of most highly price-driven commodity categories and the fact that most competitors do a very poor job of differentiating themselves. Now our orthodontist does a great job targeting kids in our community. Particularly those involved in high performance sports. I explained that the orthodontist next door may target only adults, and in that way "differentiate" him or herself.<br />
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But in this is the point that the two competitors target audiences based on "cost-of-entry" parameters. Things taken for granted by the majority. An adult with no children would feel uncomfortable working with our orthodontist. A child would feel uncomfortable being treated in a room surrounded by 55 year old adults.<br />
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So how would orthodontists better differentiate themselves within their respective audiences? Orthodontists targeting children and orthodontists targeting adults better differentiate themselves by identifying a "reason-for-being" within their sphere to which patients better relate. In the same way both Folgers and Maxwell House "deliver" flavor and aroma both cannot occupy the same "mental space."<br />
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To set themselves apart Maxwell House stays the course with various forms of "Good to the last drop" messaging. What's good to the last drop? The coffee. What about the coffee's good to the last drop? The flavor and aroma. What could be finer than that?<br />
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Mrs Olsen! She said drink "Mountain Grown" Folgers. Mountain grown was supposed to be the support point to the contention or unique selling proposition that Folgers was "the richest kind." The richest kind of what? The richest kind of coffee. What about the coffee was "the richest kind?" The flavor and aroma. So you see, we have two products not doing a very good job differentiating themselves. Both focus on a "sensory" parameter category consumers generally take for granted.<br />
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How'd one get off the treadmill? By focusing on another and more consumer-relevant "reason-for-being." By focusing on "stimulation" rather than "flavor" and "aroma" Folgers became "the best part of waking up is Folgers [or caffiene] in your cup?<br />
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What happened? A $300 million Folgers business became a $1.6 product.<br />
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So what's your "reason-for-being" versus your competitors. And is it that good?<br />
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That's thinking outside of the box :)H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-75457507805112056462010-08-19T09:01:00.000-07:002010-08-19T09:01:40.468-07:00The "SuperSized" Economy; There is no "value added."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYEB5K2IcvV_LUHjjAaGnJit8Lgqqo-sqji2BuLyyWU3yn5mNcRVAAozzqo7NjLVZrSr6skyUeK1Pf4KtK_sx8lSuRvs_XerTSd_L6WCr_3DKK4JrLYtG7EbZ4oTV93xiERHpb/s1600/supersize+me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYEB5K2IcvV_LUHjjAaGnJit8Lgqqo-sqji2BuLyyWU3yn5mNcRVAAozzqo7NjLVZrSr6skyUeK1Pf4KtK_sx8lSuRvs_XerTSd_L6WCr_3DKK4JrLYtG7EbZ4oTV93xiERHpb/s200/supersize+me.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
We're headed for more bad economic times. It's not a question as if we're asking, "Are we headed for more economic hardships?" It's a fact. We are. And here's why. <br />
We're headed for more bad times because there's no way to "add value" to the economy the way marketers "add value" to soft drinks by replacing sugar with cheaper high fructose corn syrup. The economy is chock full of artificial ingredients and the only way to return to solid ground is to subtract the "value added" components of the economy that got us in self-induced trouble in the first place.<br />
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For example, General Mills "added value" to Wheaties in the 80s by replacing "whole wheat" with non-descript "whole grain." As consumer pull-through diminished retailers began delisting the brand. General Mills had hoped no one would notice the change the same way no one noticed when Coke replaced sugar with HFCS - consumers just drank more because Coke could sell larger quantities (20 ounce bottles vesus 12) for fractions of a cent more. Supersizing was a great way to get a larger share of stomach. But it didn't work with Wheaties. General Mills never gave consumers more product for just a little more money. That was Steve Sanger's fault as inextricably linked to companies such as ADM and Cargill as he is. By repositioning the brand as "whole wheat" again Wheaties increased distribution 24% and won Advertising Age Magazine's recognition as "The Year's Best Repositioned Brand.<br />
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The bottom line here is that we've already "SuperSized" the economy the same way McDonald's "supersized us. We found out it was unhealthy. Food scientists are just wonderful.H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-12166368489809775502010-08-17T14:08:00.000-07:002010-08-17T15:08:16.521-07:00California Governor's Election - Let's Delist The Candidates<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZdXGji5oLZMQD82G9br44FpTaGoMcCTuOoeWFhBA8p-mIiM2A861Mm8oP_Y5N55EOZ8fVMoteaMYRw3Se8jcRcAnIY_tieiwe2Bs_hzRPTbtp62sQo5zSwws6RUqZVsI8KAPA/s1600/meg+whitman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZdXGji5oLZMQD82G9br44FpTaGoMcCTuOoeWFhBA8p-mIiM2A861Mm8oP_Y5N55EOZ8fVMoteaMYRw3Se8jcRcAnIY_tieiwe2Bs_hzRPTbtp62sQo5zSwws6RUqZVsI8KAPA/s200/meg+whitman.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Who do you vote for when there's no one to vote for? The front runner is front runner simply by means of having the largest budget. She has no political experience outside of the CEO and corporate ladder's suite. The other two ... well ... they're the other two candidates. So what would happen if everyone meaning the popular voters simply did not take part in the election? What if we vote for no one? I know voting is a right and a duty. That makes it more than a privledge. But what does one do when their is no choice and your choice is simply the lesser of three evils? Like a delisted brand in a grocery store voters should delist the products by not voting and blindly following the herd on election day. If we keep doing what we've always done we're going to keep getting what we've always got ... and that's not good for Californians. Are we waiting for newspapers to proclaim THE POLITICAL CRISIS the same way American's had to await for someone to tell them they were creating an economic crisis. Let's start thinking for ourselves people. If anything, vote for someone who's not running. Vote for the reluctant candidate. The guy that really doesn't want the office. Shucks, vote for yourself as a write in candidate What would happen if 36,961,664 voted for themselves? Wouldn't THAT send an appropriate message? What was that line in the movie "Network?" "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!"H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-18150948347540003172010-07-12T14:26:00.000-07:002010-07-12T14:26:59.743-07:00What business are you really in?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGhH_yEZEiMGsu6m0EDjAhxLhEYU-C3UZfBqRu60-RTyrVyA5uxyejmvTYAjJbn6XgIKJIi0bQAJ_0XLaY_qi19Ai8r1dJ_mhZNBP_xBtiTjy2Nk_H4xougdyH1Q4VPX59lm0m/s1600/erp-magic-quadrant-gartner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGhH_yEZEiMGsu6m0EDjAhxLhEYU-C3UZfBqRu60-RTyrVyA5uxyejmvTYAjJbn6XgIKJIi0bQAJ_0XLaY_qi19Ai8r1dJ_mhZNBP_xBtiTjy2Nk_H4xougdyH1Q4VPX59lm0m/s200/erp-magic-quadrant-gartner.jpg" width="186" /></a></div>My friend Ray Baird is President of RiechesBaird, one of the world's top B2B ad agencies. Ray publishes a great blog called <a href="http://www.gigabrandblog.com/">GigaBrand</a>. Go there. Ray always asks great questions like "What business are you really in?" Now Ray focuses on technology, and in this case he's focussing on ERP technology. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is an integrated computer-based system used to manage internal and external resources including tangible assets, financial resources, materials, and human resources. It is a software architecture whose purpose is to facilitate the flow of information between all business functions inside the boundaries of the organization and manage the connections to outside stakeholders. Built on a centralized database and normally utilizing a common computing platform, ERP systems consolidate all business operations into a uniform and enterprise wide system environment.<br />
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So it's easy to see why Ray asks this question. ERP can easily become a commodity. Now Ray argues that mispositioning can put you in the wrong category and thus retard sales, buyer perception and hence PROFIT. But I say if you sell technology you sell that technology. iPads are selling iPads. If you're selling corneal transplants you're selling corneal transplants. If you're selling ERP you're selling ERP. But look at iPads. As a category they may be the emerging thin clients cloud computing's been wanting to make popular. In the end all human/technology interfaces will be thin clients. But you're still selling iPads. That's your category even though iPads are mostly used for fun. Now that you're in the category, the question is differentiating yourself within the category. Here's what I said.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6pZjkE06_XKalB8m5-2Zb8ACK8teA8EjA4_jVZooEdQwDdMBl2a25Mw-Ats3UaKqTZ_RuOPobDPQCUyq7cX0zwk3rXfhjRAhgrjSdVpt7Z4slIKM9YiX_R5iC3w2C19hdotL/s1600/Ray-Baird_BW2-150x150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6pZjkE06_XKalB8m5-2Zb8ACK8teA8EjA4_jVZooEdQwDdMBl2a25Mw-Ats3UaKqTZ_RuOPobDPQCUyq7cX0zwk3rXfhjRAhgrjSdVpt7Z4slIKM9YiX_R5iC3w2C19hdotL/s200/Ray-Baird_BW2-150x150.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Exactly Ray, Toss out all quadrant or matrix position systems quant jocks employ. They’ll throw any product, company, brand or category off track because it gives brands nothing they can own or use to differentiate. This is how categories become composed of highly price driven commodities in every category. So we discovered a company, product, brand or category’s reason-for-being best defined by finding it’s Special User Effect.<br />
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As General Motor’s proved, you can target exciting fun family products (Pontiac), versus family value products (Chevrolet) but GM killed Pontiac. It’s matrix quadrant was irrelevant to car buyers even though corporate strategy thought it viable. In reality, the division never knew what consumers wanted. It just made what they wanted then told advertising we needed it. That’s bass ackwards. The Pontiac Division never had a “consumer” reason-for-being. Same with brands I turned around like Folgers or Pampers. Though heralded as the second coming of CHrist by quant jocks and market research consumers perceived pre-ground convenience, flavor and aroma as “me-too” cost-of-entry sensory parameters so the agency direction of “Mountain Grown” to support the contention that Folgers was the richest kind of coffee NEVER moved the needle even though my client spent $100 million that year domestically to support the message. The SPECIAL USER EFFECT we found was “stimulation.” Stimulation was a “brand ownable” differentiator versus the “category generic” sales drivers of ‘convenience’, ‘flavor’, and ‘aroma’. To the 23% of heavy users who account for 87% of category volume annually “the best part of [their] waking up is caffiene [Folgers] in their cup.” To them, Folgers is in THE STIMULATION business. With this insight we turned a $300 million brand into a $1.6 billion business by stealing all that share from Maxwell House, MJB & Hills Bros who could not take off their matrix driven “category consumption” blinders. Great post Ray Man. So is the real question, "How should an ERP client best differentiate themselves in a highly price-driven commodity category."<br />
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By the way, was speaking to Kraft’s Beverage President Bob Levi who oversees Maxwell House for Kraft Foods. Though he knows all this he still just launched a new flavor and aroma campaign that bounced off the market like spit wads fired at an M1 Abrahms Tank. No impact against the 47 to 14 share lead stimulation gave Folgers…and only Starbucks once came close to hitting our competitive strategy on the head with their “Think Earlier” campaign. Anyway, the same thinking works regardless of what business you’re in.H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-14328686741085509362010-06-29T16:45:00.000-07:002010-07-06T16:37:41.917-07:00How do you tell a brand's story? Marketing: Is your brand telling a great story or telling a story greatly?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS_qnBGNQ64c_iW_-atVd2VBNRy1ii0hcjJnXgCcLP2V7qd63uHiDmOxH2S9lujmuW3twFGqyEXVsAFV11RVTgpoJKqJ0tAHj2JUCwHpXbcwtunyGTqOnQ1ebE8x52uz9e2T9p/s1600/m16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS_qnBGNQ64c_iW_-atVd2VBNRy1ii0hcjJnXgCcLP2V7qd63uHiDmOxH2S9lujmuW3twFGqyEXVsAFV11RVTgpoJKqJ0tAHj2JUCwHpXbcwtunyGTqOnQ1ebE8x52uz9e2T9p/s200/m16.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>How do you tell a brand's story?<br />
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Contrary to popular belief most brands tell a great story. At least that's what they believe. In reality they're telling a story greatly. What's the difference? Well, brands that tell stories greatly tend to say the same thing their rival does ... their advertising agency just says it differently. Brands that tell great stories have identified a product based selling dimension that dramatically differentiates themselves from competitors.<br />
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What are examples of brands that tell their stories greatly? Well, any category composed of heavily price driven commodity brands such as alcohol (beer, wine, ale, spirits), paper (paper towels, bath tissue, disposable diapers, napkins) or personal care products (shampoos, conditioners, oral care, etc.) ... some of the largest categories in consumer products utilize positioning strategies that converge on the same position as their rival ... they just have ad agencies that say the same thing differently. Detergents all claim to clean better and faster. All alcoholic beverages address the need state "to party" or "to relax." There isn't a single toothpaste (sensitive teeth being the exception) that doesn't trade on one of the five category attributes that account for all consumer perceptions in oral care - whitening, cavity prevention, breath care, gum care and tartar control. Year after year the message gets stale and only updated with new copy and actors ... not product based differentiators. Consequently, their ad spending drives category consumption rather than brand selection - ergo the saying, " I know that at least half of my advertising budget works ... I just don't know which half."<br />
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What are examples of brands that tell a great story? Well, Pampers recognized that 'fit' and 'dryness' were generic category cost of entry story parameters. Identifying an infant and toddler's 'development' finally enabled Pampers Phases Developmental Diapers to grow the business (ownable by Pampers) rather than the category by $1.2 billion per year for a decade, better relate to the emotional rewards of parenting and arrest toddler migration to arch rival Kimberly-Clark's Pull Ups. And for a fraction of the previous brand budget. Just one word, "development" made all the difference.<br />
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Now that's telling a great story, not telling a story greatly.<br />
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Another example of using a product-based selling dimension for the first time no one has seen to tell a great story? Back in the day the big three GRC (Ground Roast Coffee) brands - Maxwell House, Folgers and Hills Bros/MJB all thought people bought their product for convenience, flavor and aroma. Not true. These "me too" cost of entry parameters did not enable the brands to connect with their customer's lifestyles. For example, New Englanders did not spend their Sunday mornings with the New York Times and Maxwell House because of the brand's flavor and aroma. They bought the brand because the best part of their waking up is/was caffiene in their cup. The active product based selling dimension is 'stimulation' not flavor or aroma. This realization turned $300 million Folgers into a $1.6 billion brand and left Maxwell House standing in the dust.<br />
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Not long ago I was speaking with a Kraft Foods Marketing Director running the Gevalia Business. He wanted to know if I had any coffee experience. The conversation ended with his exclamation, "So you're the son of a bitch that did that to Maxwell House!" "You need to speak with Bob Levi." Bob is President of Kraft Foods Beverage Business. Having called Bob he listened then said, "Well I've been working for Kraft 22 years and I've never heard of you." And I said, "Well I've been working for Kraft for 35 years and I've never heard of you either. Would you like to hear what I've worked on at Kraft?" He "harumphed" and said I'd never worked at Kraft. I guess he'd better go ask, Karen Scott, Eric Strobel, Bob Morrison, and about 50 other functional line management and C-suite execs who welcomed me to the company to work on their brands. Needless to say I wasn't going to get a chance to work on Maxwell House or for Bob Levi though I've been pitching Maxwell House for about 40 years. Then I saw new advertising for Maxwell House. Same flavor and aroma crap. Bob Levi was so busy putting up walls and protecting his turf he hadn't heard a thing I said.<br />
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Now that's telling a great story. Not telling a story greatly.H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-19312275137755663792010-04-20T09:57:00.000-07:002010-04-20T09:59:24.422-07:00Forbes Columnist Sramana Mitra features OraQuel on April 15's 1M/1M Strategy Round TableForbes Columnist Sramana Mitra covered my OraQuel and OraQuel's Heart Smart Oral Care positioing on her weekly 1M/1M Strategy Roundtable April 15. I was honored to be selected as the show's opening presenter. Sramana's counsel is that OraQuel is essentially on track and that we need to keep doing what we are doing. Take a listen to the broadcast <a href="http://tinyurl.com/y2dehr5">here</a>. Listen to April 15's Round Table. We like her! Follow up: We were informed that the OraQuel segmant of the broadcast generated more public chat during the chat live segment of the show than any other Round Table business covered to date. That makes us happy too!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-BBc9ELu4C_TlU8C327dRWwthB8XZLJT7CaVRyn6acaTk0yAJt2BFubzdzUlM53ge-gCDixnXyl4p71NIFxRdGfv88tXQsz9fbfzna1KUjsezFFcGx5kZpD9DJlOXJlR-fOf/s1600/sramana+mitra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-BBc9ELu4C_TlU8C327dRWwthB8XZLJT7CaVRyn6acaTk0yAJt2BFubzdzUlM53ge-gCDixnXyl4p71NIFxRdGfv88tXQsz9fbfzna1KUjsezFFcGx5kZpD9DJlOXJlR-fOf/s200/sramana+mitra.jpg" width="182" wt="true" /></a></div><strong>About Sramana Mitra</strong><br />
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1M/1M Strategy Roundtables for Entrepreneurs<br />
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As part of the 1M/1M initiative, Sramana Mitra offers free weekly online strategy roundtables for entrepreneurs looking to discuss positioning, financing, and other aspects of a startup venture. Up to 1,000 people can attend each session, but only the first five who register to pitch will be able to present their business ideas. All attendees are able to join in on the conversations via a live chat.<br />
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Sramana Mitra has been an entrepreneur and a strategy consultant in Silicon Valley since 1994. Her fields of experience span from hard core technology disciplines like semiconductors to sophisticated consumer marketing industries including fashion and education. Her current focus, however, is primarily in the realms of Web 3.0 and Enterprise 3.0, and related infrastructure. She has a particular interest in Media and Retail companies and their transition to a Web-centric world.<br />
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As an entrepreneur CEO, Sramana founded 3 companies: Dais (Off-shore Software Services), Intarka (Sales Lead Generation and Qualification Software; VC: NEA) and Uuma (Online Personalized Store for selling clothes using Expert Systems software; VC: Redwood). Two of these were acquired, while the third received an acquisition offer from Ralph Lauren which the company did not accept.<br />
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As strategy consultant, Sramana has consulted with over 70 companies, including public companies like SAP, Cadence Design Systems, Webex, KLA-Tencor, Tessera, Mercado Libre among others. Her work has also included numerous startups and VCs, and she played Interim VP Marketing roles for 7 such ventures. Sramana has a proven track-record in turn-arounds, both small private companies and divisions of larger companies. She has also created major growth strategies through new market penetration, M&A, Industry Roll-ups, etc.<br />
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Writings from Sramana’s popular strategy blog are syndicated by Seeking Alpha, Yahoo! Finance, PaidContent, ReadWriteWeb, Cadwire, Emergic, GigaOm, and many other high traffic online business, finance, and technology publishers. Sramana is also a colmnist for Forbes and the author of Entrepreneur Journeys (Volume One). <br />
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Sramana has a Masters degree in EECS from MIT and a Bachelors degree in Computer Science and Economics from Smith College. <br />
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Specialties- Positioning.<br />
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- Strategic Planning Programs.<br />
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- Product strategy, Market strategy, Channel strategy, M&A, Funding, and Exit strategy.<br />
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- Business Development, Deal structuring, Negotiation, Opening and Closing deals.<br />
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- Communication, Category Creation, Media/Analyst/Investor/Customer/Team facing Messaging.<br />
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- Fund raising.<br />
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- M&A Deals.<br />
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- Turnarounds.<br />
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- Strategic Re-engineering and Catalyzing Change.H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-80568077451968592682010-04-01T19:00:00.000-07:002010-04-01T19:00:56.762-07:00Official Google Blog: A different kind of company nameA nice test of brand elasticity. <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/different-kind-of-company-name.html">Official Google Blog: A different kind of company name</a>H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-62827772142411530762010-03-09T12:49:00.000-08:002010-04-01T10:41:13.632-07:00OraQuel Toothbrush Sterilizer versus VioLight, DenTek and SonicCare UV (ultra violet) Toothbrush SterilizersTen years ago people scoffed at the notion that links existed between oral infection and heart attack or cardiovascular disease. Now everyone from the American Heart Association to the American Dental Association talk about the onset of plaque and tartar buildup leading to childhood gingivitis leading to heart attack later in life as fact. Eighty-four percent of Americans fail to remove plaque and tartar from our teeth while brushing. This leads to unseen and unfelt gingivitis and according to the American Heart Association the arteries in 72% of heart attack victims are blocked by oral plaque; not cholesterol and fat as all the big pharmaceutical companies want you to believe.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpUM1COURS-XlHTqCyFZ04nxWFBM7Q27BP9PGA0UOk9eEZGapNiJMIja01Yq-Zoxd-bu2qaCQE7oHfCAHqSrN7jGXRfMEiqj-SoUgyX8r550R1tiOeAnTGmmf1ICciLivuId3w/s1600/New+Oraquel+Bottles+008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpUM1COURS-XlHTqCyFZ04nxWFBM7Q27BP9PGA0UOk9eEZGapNiJMIja01Yq-Zoxd-bu2qaCQE7oHfCAHqSrN7jGXRfMEiqj-SoUgyX8r550R1tiOeAnTGmmf1ICciLivuId3w/s200/New+Oraquel+Bottles+008.jpg" width="150" /></a>So I'm a big fan of products that draw attention to these facts. Back in the 50's and 60's when I was a child we all gathered around the TV on Sunday evenings to watch Bonanza, Disney (with Walt) and the Ed Sullivan Show. We were all told by advertising to get great dental check ups and to prevent cavities with Crest. Then more oral care brands decided they wanted a share of our toothbrushing occasions and decided that we'd brush our teeth to whiten and brighten, freshen our breath, prevent cavities, take care of our gums and eliminate tartar. And that's the way we've been brushing our teeth for the last 30 years. The current category leader, Colgate Total, took the top spot away from Crest long ago by putting all of these category attributes under one umbrella - theirs. So nothing's changed much right?! Wrong!</div><br />
There's a new battle for oral care supremacy and it all has to do with providing "Heart Smart Oral Care" as touted by OraQuel; the leading brand in the toothbrush sterilizer segment. Toothbrush sterilizers!? Yes don't get me wrong. Apart from killing germs on a toothbrush toothbrush sterilizers are promoting awareness for the need to change our oral care habits and practices. Now most companies do what they can do. If you are an appliance manufacturer then you want to jump into this game with a toothbrush sterilization appliance - but toothbrush sterilization appliances have a lot of drawbacks: 1) the category (sales) action isn't in killing germs, 2) appliances are expensive, 3) appliances are unable to remove solids like toothpaste residue, food, mucus, blood or tartar that rinsing with water leaves behind, 4) and if I remember from my Gillette Hot Foamy Shave Machine Days - people don't want another appliance cluttering hard-to-keep-clean bathroom countertops that collect water and soap scum stains, hair and anything else.<br />
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So why is OraQuel different - or better - than the VioLight, Dentek, SonicCare (UV - ultra violet units) and the steam driven Germ Terminator? Well, usage has to be "interactive" to change consumer habits and practices on a large scale. OraQuel isn't an appliance, it's a spray - and when you (especially children) spray OraQuel on a dirty toothbrush it foams to tell you it's working. Kids love to see it work. So children with OraQuel in the house tend to brush their teeth as much as 33% more often and 20% longer. Delivered to the Good Housekeeping Institute in late 2003, OraQuel won the affection of the Good Housekeeping Institute's Director and staff who all took bottles home for their families. OraQuel was tapped as 2004's Best New Product for Product Innovation in Oral Care.<br />
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So how does OraQuel protect your heart? Well, by brushing more often and longer, children do a better job removing the plaque and tartar that promotes gingivitis and that heart attack later in life. Appliances don't generate that type of consumer interest, involvement and excitement (interaction). :) Also, and perhaps more importantly, wetting your toothbrush with OraQuel prior to brushing boosts any toothpaste's ability to cut through that film of plaque and tartar that formed on your teeth overnight while you slept (morning mouth), or during the day while you work. So I put my money where my mouth is and bought OraQuel. Beyond removing plaque, tartar and germs that reinfect every time a toothbrush enters your mouth OraQuel is "Heart Smart Oral Care." I like the company's slogan/positioning. No one else targets this territory.H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-60506160365113434882010-03-07T06:10:00.000-08:002010-03-07T06:11:21.761-08:00Germ Terminator Versus OraQuel Pro Oral Health Toothbrush CleanerIf there's anything I learned during my days working with personal care companies such as Gillette and Oral-B it's that no one wants another "appliance" cluttering hard to keep clean bathroom counter tops. So along comes the Germ Terminator, yet another appliance, that harkens back to the day of those old Gillette Hot Foamy shaving machines. Appliances tend to cost more, and once you put them away because company's coming you forget to get them back out and use them. And no one would want to buy a used toothbrush cleaning appliance at a garage sale.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbF7Q9-nw5jR8verTL1VukFrysJfTuP3JNIFAqGkS57QPlfADIzy1r_cUFAUW6krH9b7uFGdjKDaxgNxijYh0Pz1g8QIbiWdtHPv4OKseuPh458gFDa3mlBEAE8imlPI-RxVna/s1600-h/Germ+Terminator.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbF7Q9-nw5jR8verTL1VukFrysJfTuP3JNIFAqGkS57QPlfADIzy1r_cUFAUW6krH9b7uFGdjKDaxgNxijYh0Pz1g8QIbiWdtHPv4OKseuPh458gFDa3mlBEAE8imlPI-RxVna/s200/Germ+Terminator.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Now I don't have a problem with the idea of promoting a clean toothbrush. Afterall, we tell our kids to wash their hands several times everyday and those guys over at Purell have made themselves a nifty fortune with their hand sanitizer. But hey! Isn't there a better way to clean your toothbrush. I mean it needs to be done. You wouldn't eat breakfast with a fork or spoon you only licked clean after dinner, right?<br />
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OraQuel Pro Oral Health Oxygenating Toothbrush Cleaner is an engaging and interactive easy-to-use spray. What makes OraQuel so engaging and interactive is the fact that it foams when you spray it on a dirty toothbrush. And it won't foam on a clean one. Kids love to watch OraQuel work; and in in-home placement tests children using OraQuel tended to brush their teeth 33% more often and 20% longer. What parent or dentist would argue with that! Which is why The Good Housekeeping Institute tabbed OraQuel "Best New Product 2004" "for Product Innovation in Oral Care."<br />
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What's the big hype about all this toothbrush cleaning? Well on the surface (no pun intended) the plaque and tartar layer that builds up on teeth leads to gingivitis now liked to heart attack and coronary disease. Plaque from the infection builds up in arteries starting in childhood and potentially results in heart attack, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, even low birth weight babies later in life. This gingivitis is present in 84% of Americans who can't see or feel it and 72% of blockages in the arteries of heart attack victims is found to be based on oral plaque, not cholesterol or fat.<br />
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To this end OraQuel has a couple of advantages or product features going for it. 1) Children with OraQuel in their household brush more often and longer; better removing plaque and tartar to eliminate gingivitis. 2) OraQuel contains the most effective ingredient against plaque, tartar and gingivitis. So wetting your toothbrush with OraQuel before you brush enables any toothpaste to do a better job breaking through the plaque and tartar barrier constantly forming as a hardening film on your teeth. 3) Because OraQuel is interactive it is easier for children not to forget to use. Children get excited about using OraQuel because they want to see it working on their dirty toothbrush; and they want to see if their toothbrush IS dirty or clean. Consequently, OraQuel is a better product for sanitizing a toothbrush and promoting the better oral care habits dentists and parents applaud. For my money I'd choose OraQuel. It's better "Heart Smart Oral Care."H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-63789540484528576662010-03-01T13:42:00.000-08:002010-03-01T13:42:29.074-08:00BrandWash - The Economics of the Marketing Department's PlagiarismBrandWash: A SPECIAL REPORT<br />
- The Economics of Plagiarism in Marketing <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNOPKpJYN46KWYfybk1WN2El9weycz8WygHKY5GYEBq-1pXiFK9gzX5_qJangpyu9LED4AzoQyuyEhDmrDILAG_LySku2lUpKjejJdt7zUXlu-lI_OTqO0FlqKmICToRsCg_G/s1600-h/yellow+eyed+girl+original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNOPKpJYN46KWYfybk1WN2El9weycz8WygHKY5GYEBq-1pXiFK9gzX5_qJangpyu9LED4AzoQyuyEhDmrDILAG_LySku2lUpKjejJdt7zUXlu-lI_OTqO0FlqKmICToRsCg_G/s200/yellow+eyed+girl+original.jpg" width="200" /></a>Drawing on 40 years of experience and the fact that I've created the 10 most successful new products in the consumer packaged goods industry I look back in perspective and decide to write a book called BrandWash - The Economics of Plagiarism in Marketing. Now plagiarism isn't allowed in school. They flunk you out. And a great deal of time is spent on plagiarising business plans in business ethics courses so I began wondering (and here is where I'd like your feedback) why is it so that I can't find a detergent brand that doesn't promise to do the cleaning job better and faster; why can't I find an air freshener from Glade to Fabreeze that doesn't promise to make my house smell sweet; why can't I find an orange juice brand that doesn't have that blasted straw stinking out of an orange or a hand reaching from field to grocer's shelf that doesn't promise to taste most like the orange; why does every Leo Burnett ad seem almost the same; why does every shampoo and conditioner promise women model perfect hair; what analgesic doesn't promise to relieve pain better and faster and so on and so on. You see, I've worked in all these categories, and did so successfully, because we were able to give each category's founding member a highly-differentiating, highly-consumer-desired and highly-differentiating "product based" reason for being - like Claritin's CLEAR DAY. It's kept every other rival at bay for decades and it accounts for 67% of Schering-Plough's profits. ADVERTISING & MARKETING STRATEGY FOR IDIOTS! At one time all ground roast coffee from Maxwell House to Chock Full 'O Nuts that heavenly coffee promised consumers rich taste and aroma completely missing the reason why 20% of the GRC audience (heavy users) account for 85% of category volume. It's not flavor and aroma. IT'S STIMULATION. The best part of waking up is caffiene in your cup. But we couldn't sell a drug so we had to substitute the word Folgers for caffiene and hope it would work. I guess taking a $300 million brand to $1.6 billion on 1/10th the budget of Mrs. Olsen's Mountain Grown did the trick. Differentiated the brand. So Folgers took and sustained a 37 to 14 share lead over Maxwell House overnight. And Maxwell House IS STILL talking about flavor and aroma. Come on BL! Wake up! Hello, is anybody home? No wonder 87% of 6,973 CEOs in an exclusive Boston Consulting Group poll said they were disappointed in their innovation return on investment. There is no innovation. Too much strategic plagiarism going on in just about every conceivable category by marketers who are unable to meaningfully differentiate a brand or product. And just to back that up; Al Ries, Partner of Jack Trout (remember Trout & Ries? The guys who wrote POSITIONING: THE BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND says marketers walked away from positioning their brands on product based dimensions decades ago. Not even Al Ries (father of Laura Ries if you subscribe to her blog (recommended) Ries' Pieces) thinks he can reignite the olympic positioning torch! Today's marketers don't know what they've lost, and it's gone. Grew up knowing who lived in a pineapple under the sea but couldn't say who lived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Oh well, they got bigger fish to fry like tagging the next social media opportunity hoping if they throw enough "creative" against the glass some of it might stick. That's not creative. But it is a reason nearly 7,000 CEOs in a recent Advertising Age Poll opted in that ad agencies had become commodities. Yet CMOs continue to do today what they did yesterday so they can keep on doing it tomorrow. AND THAT'S THE ECONOMICS OF PLAGIARISM IN MARKETING. Companies like McDonald's, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Kraft all lose more money than they make each year and companies like Coke, because they can't generate big ideas in house outsource new products to Mergers & Acquisitions who overpay for brands like Vitamin Water without a chance of ever recovering their $4+ billion investment. </div>H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-91135682458247595472010-02-07T08:19:00.000-08:002010-02-07T08:23:11.382-08:00McDonald's Leverages Wi-FiIn it's best marketing decision since Dick and Maurice McDonald put hamburgers on the menu and the Speedy Service System in place McDonald's has given America Free Wi-Fi at 11,500 of 14,000 locations ... an event equally rivaling America's first lunar landing in terms of being able to Socially Engineer or change consumer habits and practices.<br />
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McDonald's has long been the bastion of the very young (moms with kids) or the very old (on fixed incomes). It was all they can afford. Now McDonald's has become the McDonald's for "the rest of us." While the maxim CQCQ means that McDonald's will continue to consistently put out the same products, the same way, no matter where you are; free wi-fi access means it's now OK just to go there and hang out. So will you?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpXlyW3gCPm23N9ZsRXnSuOD6COjXnsPyX_eVY0g-ao1VaJIIESoNvz47hX6WhNKVrdZvyXZhNfaeeGLyjZnlWKgshzYllOfSBf8FM_eNO65caUlNoTna6XtKXC3_Ak6aeAG1e/s1600-h/McDonalds+WiFi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpXlyW3gCPm23N9ZsRXnSuOD6COjXnsPyX_eVY0g-ao1VaJIIESoNvz47hX6WhNKVrdZvyXZhNfaeeGLyjZnlWKgshzYllOfSBf8FM_eNO65caUlNoTna6XtKXC3_Ak6aeAG1e/s200/McDonalds+WiFi.jpg" width="159" /></a></div>I stopped into a neighboring Starbucks. Six laptops paying for wi-fi access and one woman with a brand new laptop from the Best Buy next door desperately trying to log on (newbie). A gentleman delicately explained that you had to pay for the privledge here with AT&T, but the McDonald's down the street had it for free. So I had to pack up my MacBook and head down the street to see.<br />
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Yep. Same old crowd and not a laptop in sight. So I ordered a dollar McDouble, sat down and got to work while starting to observe. Within minutes the manager was out at a table (coincidence) with her charts obviously preparing for a meeting. A few minutes later the franchise owner walked in (guess I was right about the meeting - going over numbers). Beaming at me as he walked by came the question excitedly, "So how's the Wi-Fi working!?" "Excellent," I said wanting to assure the man he'd made a wise decision; or that he was lucky for having been tapped to offer free wi-fi. He proceeded with his meeting while I chilled for the next hour and a half.<br />
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Same old crowd. No laptops walked in the door, but hey! Guess I'm an early adapter this time around. Find out if McDonald's offers free wi-fi in your community. Go to <a href="http://www.mcdonalds.com/wireless.html">McDonald's Wireless Connectivity</a> and check it out. Nice move McDonald's. I'm lovin' it! And by the way, the ad in this post is made entirely of french fries. Courtesy of Leo Burnett?H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-85622501494452055492010-01-26T08:55:00.000-08:002010-02-06T11:19:16.815-08:00Rave Praise for OraQuel!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiotwxLbJHyxCxqJjx96x_95d1Lwf-wRzFeDIYUSeGAuYJGO4cpVAIdS_S6EbWERBPHYk4sdgSJPKzh54fbjABAtGAPjSes_w8LxAygxqCubPtroKaJKmxsD9ps8ubaEpHDOLH6/s1600-h/OraQuel+Red+Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiotwxLbJHyxCxqJjx96x_95d1Lwf-wRzFeDIYUSeGAuYJGO4cpVAIdS_S6EbWERBPHYk4sdgSJPKzh54fbjABAtGAPjSes_w8LxAygxqCubPtroKaJKmxsD9ps8ubaEpHDOLH6/s200/OraQuel+Red+Logo.jpg" width="200" /></a>Hi Martin, </div><br />
This is fanatastic 12 years ago I was the Head of Marketing For Bayer Professional Dental product (now owned by Hereus Kulzer) we knew these facts then but advised people to chuck out toothbrushes etc etc. Your <a href="http://www.oraquel.com/">OraQuel</a> products really address the problem straight on.<br />
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Your range and innovation sounds fantastic, where can we buy these products in the UK ? Are you looking for distribution here? Do heart specialists here know about the range?<br />
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Kind regards<br />
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LouiseH. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-33500809182783763752010-01-21T21:56:00.000-08:002010-01-22T08:36:30.247-08:00On Corporate Creative Comas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5PSYELdaRJ9wFTKvg3pH_aoFlj-qCOyeLcyv9Z15CdCx-YgP_A8nj6LmOA64vUYoFHP5J6JFu7IkNOF1xN5_kmIIVxoXDV2jaLgyxWGiWAlbfAm4cyg-Wvpu70RXWaeJoSCSI/s1600-h/bullseye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5PSYELdaRJ9wFTKvg3pH_aoFlj-qCOyeLcyv9Z15CdCx-YgP_A8nj6LmOA64vUYoFHP5J6JFu7IkNOF1xN5_kmIIVxoXDV2jaLgyxWGiWAlbfAm4cyg-Wvpu70RXWaeJoSCSI/s200/bullseye.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
</div>Did you know that no one in the consumer packaged goods industry has launched a successful new product that's topped $319 million in sales (within the first year) in at least the last 30 years? I mention this particular number (for Frito-Lay's Baked Lays Potato Chips) because it is the <em><strong>least</strong></em> successful (#10) of the top 10 <strong><em>most</em></strong> successful new products of the past 57 years tracked by companies such as my own Calle & Company, IRI, NPD, ACNielsen and others.<br />
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So why do many consumer packaged goods companies miss the big ideas and consumer cultures? I mean companies like Miller Brewing, surfing upon the fame of post-High Life Lite Beer have not been able to internally develop another major brand since the introduction of Cold-filtered Miller Genuine Draft - the number two brand behind Lite in their portfolio - and I assisted on the delivery of that one. And then there is Coca-Cola who can't come up with a big idea on its own to save its life. So they outsource all of their new products to mergers and acquisitions - way over paying for brands like Vitamin Water.<br />
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So here's a story called "The Smuggler" describing how easy it is for big companies to miss the big think.<br />
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A clever smuggler came to the border with a donkey. The donkey's back was heavily laden with straw. The official at the border was suspicious and pulled apart the man's bundles till there was straw all around, but not a valuable thing in the straw was found. "But I'm certain you're smuggling something," the official said, as the man crossed the border. <br />
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Now each day for ten years the man came to the border with a donkey. Although the official searched and searched the straw bundles on the donkey's back, he never could find anything valuable hidden in them.<br />
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Many years later, after the official had retired, he happened to meet that same smuggler in a marketplace and said, "Please tell me, I beg you. Tell me, what were you smuggling? Tell me, if you can." <br />
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"Donkeys," said the man.H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-71031247441210976182010-01-20T10:01:00.000-08:002010-01-20T10:05:38.615-08:00Is This A BRIGHT IDEA?<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxEEPd-IY-e1iNSKM4XJa4qjMwGmyQOZQyLoLxOkfn9hMDoNyXbg77rLMPr3ttKD3RK12O3jSETc3MEnEd71qzEr8YtmBCD-TS7nLKjRjXQ3juGPsYmTTG0cCeEnA7B2AfWqQd/s1600-h/lip+piercing+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxEEPd-IY-e1iNSKM4XJa4qjMwGmyQOZQyLoLxOkfn9hMDoNyXbg77rLMPr3ttKD3RK12O3jSETc3MEnEd71qzEr8YtmBCD-TS7nLKjRjXQ3juGPsYmTTG0cCeEnA7B2AfWqQd/s200/lip+piercing+3.jpg" width="168" /></a><br />
</div>Hi Everyone! My name is Martin Calle. I've invented a lot of successful consumer products including Baked Lays Potato Chips, Tylenol Gelcaps and Cold-filtered Miller Genuine Draft. I've also turned around sleeping giant brands for companies like Procter & Gamble turning $300 million Folgers into a business worth $1.6 billion; I've also grown Pampers by $11 billion over the last 10 years. Now I've launched my own company to make ORAQUEL®. ( <a href="http://www.oraquel.com/">http://www.oraquel.com/</a> ) I invented the name, the concept, the formulas, the whole works. ORAQUEL® is "HEART SMART ORAL CARE" because ORAQUEL® stops "ORAL PLAQUE HEART ATTACK." That's right. The AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION has conducted studies showing that the plaque found in the arteries of 72% of heart attack victims is oral, not arterial plaque. The accumulation begins in childhood and culminates (or should I say “terminates”) when you are an adult. There are three products in the ORAQUEL® line. OraQuel® Oxygenating Toothbrush Cleaner - which "cleans toothbrushes better than water" to remove the plaque, tartar and gingivitis linked to coronary disease. And OraQuel® foams on contact to tell you it's working - an important visual reinforcement that you need to do this. There is also the fact that using OraQuel® causes children to brush their teeth 33% more often and 20% longer because they like to see it work (no parent or dentist has ever been able to accomplish that!) which is why THE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING INSTITUTE tapped OraQuel® as "THE BEST NEW PRODUCT" for "INNOVATION IN ORAL CARE" in 2004. I also manufacture OraQuelAC® After Care promoted to younger audiences passionate about tattoos, body adornment and body modification - they want to use the product to "prevent tongue piercing infections, keep their mouth clean and promote rapid healing"; and OraQuel Lypht®, "THE LIQUID TONGUE SCRAPER" to help those who gag on solid tongue scrapers. Hey! I was a skeptic too until I figured out that manufacturers actually sell enough tongue scrapers to keep them on the shelves at drug stores such as Rite-Aid, Walgreen's and CVS. My fourth product, LIQUID FLOSS® is also available now. Why did I pick oral care? Well, tobacco, alcohol and paper goods are the top three sellers in chain drug and grocery stores and their costs of entry are too high. The forth largest catergory is personal care or what used to be called health & beauty aids (H&BA). There, the top sellers are first shampoos and conditioners (of which there are too many) and oral care. The cost of entry in oral care is much lower and there are far fewer relevant competitors. The big guys like Colgate Total and P&G's Crest only focus on the five category attributes I defined for them years ago as to why we brush our teeth. (For cavity prevention, breath freshening, gum care, tartar control and whitening of course). Now I'm not big enough to compete against them so I had to find a different avenue and that route is called ORAQUEL®. Please try my products! Check out my web site <a href="http://www.oraquel.com/">http://www.oraquel.com/</a> - it's really different (at least when compared to every other dental and oral care site out there. Thanks!H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-20669867387474910562009-11-30T21:36:00.000-08:002009-11-30T21:41:49.526-08:00General Motor's Cultural Autism and Intimacy-Deficiency Disorder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:DHJL1eUetXoWwM:http://headlesschicken.ca" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:DHJL1eUetXoWwM:http://headlesschicken.ca" width="198" yr="true" /></a><br />
</div>Is it any wonder that General Motors so dutifully displays it's intimacy-deficiency syndrome in ads for the Buick LaCrosse that claim IT is another reason for Lexus' relentless pursuit of perfection? Do you also find it laughingly unbelievable that Howie Long can schill for Chevy then throw in that in comparisons to Hondas Chevy doesn't make lawnmowers? Not to GM: When you are so far down a hole you have to climb up a ladder to get to the bottom you don't go around parading your cultural autism: a complete disregard for the consumer's cultural intelligence. Socially awkward does not even begin to describe General Motor's turnaround face. Chevy's still called "the volume" brand with no hope of catching the brands that so better move consumer culture into and back out of their organization. General Motors was and is the kid in school everyone percieved to be an outcast. Mean yes. True? We'll, their the ones with the self-inflicted wounds. As GM sheds brands GM remains...completely delusional in the way it views itself.<br />
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I find the concept of Cultural Autism in business interesting. And with Google returning only 4,500 some odd results on the topic, it is not very well explored. With Grant McCracken's release of his new book, <a href="http://www.cultureby.com/">Chief Culture Officer</a>, no book or subject could be more timely for GM.<br />
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I found this webcast on <a href="http://www.modavox.com/VoiceAmerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=40267">cultural autism</a>. I hope it provides food for thought in your own business. Today human interaction has been reduced to text messages, Facebook pages, computer screens, and mindless television. Parents are merely chauffeurs for their children’s endless activities away from home. Neighbors are strangers on the other side of a high, strong fence. Many families don’t even share meals together. What is the price of this modern living? The price is deep loss -- of real connecting intimacy, of family cohesion, of social graces, of a sense of community. These are fading away into the distant memory of our collective psyche, replaced by sterile cultural autism (disregard for external reality), masquerading as genuine intimacy. We will be discussing the emotional deficiency disorder at the heart of our high-tech culture-- lack of deep, profound relating with one another.<br />
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Will the androids running GM ever feel real?H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-51993106237663521732009-10-18T21:54:00.000-07:002009-10-18T22:31:47.419-07:00Move Over George Winston, Windam Hill. Make Room for Shannon Stephens.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk_-YM_Um8tcng-KyelQqEKM-w-wkoZGDt-MBiFQ5IAhivutSie72IqNkuwNQKxtjMTpM1lAgfwCfMwmQakUe_my5t-wJmuKgdyyU3aGmSShkicBqyqw4y4_-UTWfAwH1CGAym/s1600-h/shannon_stephens_-_zack_bent_-_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk_-YM_Um8tcng-KyelQqEKM-w-wkoZGDt-MBiFQ5IAhivutSie72IqNkuwNQKxtjMTpM1lAgfwCfMwmQakUe_my5t-wJmuKgdyyU3aGmSShkicBqyqw4y4_-UTWfAwH1CGAym/s200/shannon_stephens_-_zack_bent_-_1.jpg" vr="true" /></a>Over at indie artist music site <a href="http://www.stereogum.com/">stereogum</a> you'll not only find great free mp3 music downloads, you'll also find artsist Shannon Stephens and she's good. Really good. Like Carly Simon good. Like Carole King good. Like Joni Mitchell good. If you're in to artists like George Winston, especially his Autumn album and the entire Windam Hill record label Shannon Stephens is, was and forever will be one of your favorite artists. She's spent time in Holland, MI, like me. And I wonder if she's ever been to Pentwater? From The Breadwinner album on Asthmatic Kitty Records video by: Zack Bent additional support: Gala Bent featuring: Jillia Pessenda & Jim Bovino. Her release, In Summer In The Heat is what they say is to die for. Good stuff. Here it is. Courtesy of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlJZcjTc13Y">YouTube</a>.<br />
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<object height="225" width="430"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jlJZcjTc13Y&hl=en&fs=1&hd=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jlJZcjTc13Y&hl=en&fs=1&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="430" height="225"></embed></object>H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-7164940288942465982009-10-06T16:46:00.000-07:002009-10-06T16:51:56.798-07:00The World's Most Successful Marketer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82s5A0355xMqv1UxuUSDDUVu-xTDyR3h35U592juYDu9-r5-UG2LedAVnGL4Q-jt_U5lUk41FpnHBGB49NDPZtyQIs4j8-KXRn_sGfYLpRJDW6URHOwzuOx3pamo1OOK5vkFr/s1600-h/mystery+person.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82s5A0355xMqv1UxuUSDDUVu-xTDyR3h35U592juYDu9-r5-UG2LedAVnGL4Q-jt_U5lUk41FpnHBGB49NDPZtyQIs4j8-KXRn_sGfYLpRJDW6URHOwzuOx3pamo1OOK5vkFr/s320/mystery+person.jpg" /></a>He's not Bill Gates. He's not Steve Jobs. He doesn't even work for Procter & Gamble. But the world's most successful marketer thinks a lot like the executives at The Coca-Cola Company and Pepsi. The one thing these companies abhor is excess capacity. If you leave a bottler or fountain account with excess capacity your rival will rush in to fill it. And that's where the bulk of Coca-Cola and Pepsi's business lives. So sometime after WWII someone figured out that non-working housewives represented excess economic capacity. Potential wage earners that could, if nudged, dramatically increase the size of the US consumer economy. Ultimately, to migrate from a cash/gold standard based economy to one in which we lived on something yet introduced to be called "credit." Was the world's most successful marketer a politician, a staffer or a Madison Avenue guru? No one knows, but one thing's for sure. He or she was one smart cookie. In 1958 Diner's Club cards got a wobbly start then American Express checked into the market with a gold card that became the first green card - giving consumers permission, like a visa, to live beyond their means.<br />
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The tool? Slick positioning. The feminist movement. By mobilizing women out of the home children no longer had a strong family base. We called them latch key kids and consoled ourselves with advertising to women that said "I can bring home the bacon and cook it too." No. You couldn't. Divorce rates hit 50%. School performances dropped. Gangs rose. Families crumbled. Dual income families didn't raise..."families." Now we have single mothers. Things called alternative families. Made politically correct by children's shows such as Sesame Street. Worse. It's not right.<br />
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So who is the world's most successful marketer? Who is the man or woman responsible for Socially Engineering of the demise of American families and values? Who was it that could not leave well enough alone? Who was it who had to have America's excess capacity go to work (now, just to make ends meet)?<br />
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The world's most successful marketer brought on the financial crisis. The world's most successful marketer drove Wall Street to financial excess and put pressure on the short term gain. What did regular marketers do? They followed. They adapted to trends. They did not stand up and represent themselves. They bent. And helped the world's most successful marketer promote his or her evil. And so the world's most successful marketer launched a top-two box intent to purchase new product that brought America to its knees.<br />
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So who is the world's most successful marketer? Drop the blame on anyone you want here.H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-27777706173226737162009-10-01T10:26:00.000-07:002009-10-01T11:03:27.936-07:00Saturn: The Long Good Bye<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbalUEUdwGQMNtcKJhZ-pGJ1kIUgcCz6mA7EHG9YlEnl82Jkrx5ZrUv8fmDBirsPs60iYfjcQ3DnjVdBFQfncvGU3z-0RqT2cNDGwEaBFoHQhmcjI2twaYOk0Y6GvH42esSUek/s1600-h/saturn+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" iq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbalUEUdwGQMNtcKJhZ-pGJ1kIUgcCz6mA7EHG9YlEnl82Jkrx5ZrUv8fmDBirsPs60iYfjcQ3DnjVdBFQfncvGU3z-0RqT2cNDGwEaBFoHQhmcjI2twaYOk0Y6GvH42esSUek/s320/saturn+logo.jpg" /></a>What do Saturn and the movies "Ghost" and "The Sixth Sense" have in common? The stars (heros: Patrick Swayze, Bruce Willis, Saturn) were dead and didn't know it. Saturn wasn't born a brand with special needs. Saturn was stillborn. Conceived in 1985 to be "A different kind of car. A different kind of car company" <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/01/autos/death_of_saturn.fortune/?postversion=2009100111">Saturn never had a reason-for-being.</a> (Go to CNN article) Former GM CEO Roger Smith (of Michael Moore movie "Roger & Me" fame) wanted to start over with Saturn. Instead he stuck the automaker with another dud. Disagree? Well let's split hairs and remember that no car buyer ever said they wanted "A different kind of car. A different kind of car company." They only said they didn't like "the US auto dealership experience." So GM, in typical fashion jumped to conclusions before they jumped to the facts. When consumers said they didn't like the dealership experience they didn't say they wanted a whole new car company. They said, "fix the dealerships." But that was hard to do because people cling to their ideas more tenaciously than their most prized material possessions. No one wanted to mess with the channel guys who also held sway over each year's advertising - and what do car sales guys know about strategy?!) So, to not piss off their prima donna dealer network GM just decided to start a whole new car company with no strings attached. Fatal mistake. The start of the long good bye.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What's the back story? San Francisco's Stouffer Hotel (the one right below the Mark Hopkins and across from the Fairmont) used to be a class act. It was the hotel that hung Maxfield Parrish's "The Oak" by the elevators. And if you're a creative and don't know Maxfield Parrish you've got a lot to learn. Anyway, the Stouffer is now a Renaissance Hotel and Parish's famous "The Oak" is gone.<br />
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But there I was in 1985, gliding past The Oak and entering the elevator with Saturn's agency head Hal Riney. Hal had just won the Saturn account with his touchy feely emotional strategy for the brand. Oh great! Now consumers had an even slipperier slope to cling to. A strategy with nothing they could sink their teeth into. No product-based selling solutions. No special user effects. Just buy us because we're warm and cuddly. A different kind of car (never defined). A different kind of car company (ill defined). Hal had pulled a page from research fueling Washington Mutual's here today and gone tomorrow customer base. "We're the nice guys that wear flannel shirts and blue jeans." We're not those take your money and run American auto dealers. Remember: early Saturn floor sales personnel always wore khaki pants and unbuttoned blue oxford shirts. They never approached you unless you approached them first. Very good on paper. Very trustworthy. Very...<br />
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And I was trying to convince Riney and GM that this wasn't going to work. Remember: Saturn, as a division, has never turned a profit for GM. It has always operated in the red and has never been able to pay it's own way. So no wonder other car manufacturers wouldn't want to jump to the brand's rescue and no wonder Penske backed out of the deal. The house never had good bones to begin with. But how did I know this? The same way I knew that Philip Morris would reduce it's dependency on tobacco profit 56% by acquiring Kraft. The same way I knew Saturn would never make it. The same way Buick agency McCann-Erickson used to position and advertise the Buick Regal as "The fine line between sport and sedan." When was the last time you ever overheard the man on the street rub his chin and say aloud, "I want the car that's the fine line between sport and sedan." No one ever asked for it. People don't TALK like that! Advertising minds gone mad. As Hal Riney's pointless work for Saturn. Advertising? Yes. It aired. Success? No. The patient died. No today. At birth.<br />
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So how should the campaign have run? What reason for being should have been communicated? Something that provided a product-based reason for being. Something that differentiated the product based on it's attributes rather than the ill-directed hopes of a management whose cognitive bias created errors in judgement that led them astray. <br />
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“Today’s disappointing news comes at a time when we’d hoped for a successful launch of the Saturn brand into a new chapter,” G.M.’s chief executive, Fritz Henderson, said in a statement. What a pitty. Had Mr. Henderson stopped to consider the fact that his Division's reason-for-being had never been properly Socially Engineered? No! The company and it's strategic partners (dealers and ad agency) simply shot from the hip and ran with it never realizing that they'd first need to have their intended customers first sit down and match themselves to the brand based on over 500 dimensions of product compatibility that GM and Hal Riney did not possess. That process would have worked much like eHarmony for Saturn and would have done more to ensure the brands success. But GM and Hal Riney were much smarter than that. Instead of doing their homework they tried to wing it. Well, in all fairness, they did do their homework, with me. They just choose not to listen. Cognitive bias. They wanted to hear themselves speak. They didn't want to tell consumers what consumers said they wanted to hear about a new car brand.<br />
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They said they wanted products that "didn't look 10 years old before they were new." Good for Saturn but a definite slam to other GM divisions. So how would history be different today had GM played THAT hand and consequently forced the other divisions to shape up? Consumers wanted "To own a car that says smart things about me." Which is the reason why all those Honda Accord and Toyota Camry buyers say they buy Accords and Camrys. A far better tagline than a different kind of car, a different kind of company because it answers/answered the question, "What's in it for me?" That's important when you consider that Honda and Camry sell about a million vehicles a year while it would be a surprise if Saturn on whole ever sold more that 65,000 units a year. By the way, the two product-based advertising/positioning solutions we developed scored off the hook for top two box intent to purchase while Hal Riney's work never tested top two box intent to purchase above just below 12.3 percent probably/definitely would buy.<br />
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So there I was in the Stouffer Hotel elevator arguing logic with Hal Riney and GM executives who like Burger King wanted it their way. And look what they got. In closing I'd like to recall some emails I traded with <a href="http://www.cultureby.com/">Cultureby</a> author <a href="http://www.cultureby.com/">Grant McCracken</a> who reminded me that it's a shame that corporate memories of their histories and what they've learned or not learned are so short. Here's one more vote that GM add the position of Chief Culture Officer (Grant's group on Ning) before it's entirely too late. Because if they don't the words that I'd hear from the real change agents that hired me before they folded their hands at GM will ring true. "No one's going to save GM single handed."<br />
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In the end Saturns were too much the same and not enough "smart cars." And when GM found a savior in Marketing Director <a href="http://www.clickz.com/3556126">Mark Hans Richter</a> what did they do? They let him go. Proof again that working to drive scads of traffic to your sites won't necessarily bode sell for your corporate career. My predicted future again for GM? That GM sell it's brands to Toyota or Honda if they want them. Let Toyota or Honda build and sell the names. Then GM can just end the long good bye.H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-5689670612282590772009-09-29T09:54:00.000-07:002009-09-29T10:20:06.980-07:00Cadillac & General Motors: The limitations of needs based selling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3npA-GawbHsA0hKLIDcXPaznZrY7VAUeIJkH2ZwncAiJGbJgSh-MDxI6l9Qly0QEH1oara5ItPBp85dtSHwvBZShgqj7bnEVF18iZyTQFWh4KVVRtif2RDGeMekKxO_k6wEdE/s1600-h/Cadillac+SRX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" iq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3npA-GawbHsA0hKLIDcXPaznZrY7VAUeIJkH2ZwncAiJGbJgSh-MDxI6l9Qly0QEH1oara5ItPBp85dtSHwvBZShgqj7bnEVF18iZyTQFWh4KVVRtif2RDGeMekKxO_k6wEdE/s320/Cadillac+SRX.jpg" /></a>Charles H. Green's <a href="http://trustedadvisor.com/trustmatters/242/The-Limits-of-Needs-based-Selling-and-Consultative-Selling">Trust Matters</a> blog is always a good read. And the relevance of his post on <a href="http://trustedadvisor.com/trustmatters/242/The-Limits-of-Needs-based-Selling-and-Consultative-Selling">the limitations of needs based selling</a> remains fresh two years later when you read it and contrast his views against the efforts of companies in financial crisis attempting to affect turnarounds. My case in point? General Motors. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A company's advertising is its mouthpiece. And no where else will one find greater expression of needs based selling than in a company's advertising. And nowhere else can one find greater evidence that absolutely nothing has changed within a company than in the way they express "our" needs - for this is how they "see" us.<br />
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Look at General Motor's advertising for Cadillac's SRX Crossover. It says this "is the Cadillac or crossover vehicles." IS THAT my need? I thought MY NEED, if I currently had one, was to see signs of life from General Motors! Proof that someone was listening! Not "proof" from Ed Whitacre that when he came to GM he "liked what he found." Ed's just not my "needs" barometer.<br />
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So once again GM offers evidence that even though someone is home no one is "listening!" Like the scene in The Hunt For Red October where the Soviet Navy is banging away with their sonar so hard they couldn't hear a submarine if it was right under them; GM isn't listening to my needs. As Charles Green says, GM is trying to drive me (like cattle) to my needs.<br />
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GM and Cadillac are still my grandfather's brands. Telling me I need "the Cadillac" of crossovers just doesn't cut it. I look at the vehicle and see a design that "looks 10 years old before it was even new." The SRX is not "a product that says smart things about me." And in all of the advanced strategy research I did for GM that GM ignored and continues to ignore, these two needs still rate higher in GM's turnaround efforts than do money back guarantees. Who wants a money back guarantee if I'm not going to consider buying the car anyway!?<br />
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Cadillac is not my gold standard. There are just soooo many other luxury crossover and SUV brands that anyone over and under the age of 54 would rather have. So how does Cadillac address this? General Motor's Cadillac Division must Socially Engineer® a reason-for-being - the posuitioning strategy - that proves the brand is once again relevant to me. Social Engineering® is a process that matches consumers via "Culturally Influential Consumer Groups®" to products based on over 500 dimensions of product compatibility GM does not possess. Social Enginnering® is not accomplished using judgement for here we see General Motor's and it's partner's cognitive bias at work: advertising based on errors in judgement brought on by the false positives of old thinking.<br />
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Being "The Cadillac of Crossovers" is a claim without substantiation. Like "branding," it's something the lawyers say you can say when you don't have anything to say. As legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden says, "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." So I'd welcome a fresh round of calls from executives at Cadillac and General Motors. Just don't ask me to wait 120 days to be paid like last time. Your needs are not being met by your existing roster of vendors and strategic suppliers. They have not helped you worship at the alter of effective needs based selling.H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-23973996604799443962009-09-25T11:13:00.000-07:002009-09-25T11:24:30.159-07:00Personal Branding - The Companies Headhunters Blackball<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTSA_Up08qRT4QXHG92gbPsgMKOMjkwh2mpY8Flt8EKuaa08k4zcZt4hJird7LKs8EAsOGfLVh6ADZgVm3c7Ehi0sK3LtbzCAVgXH1krRKHPDSkM2GbDXkew9KADEa2jPwcgQA/s1600-h/8+ball.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" iq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTSA_Up08qRT4QXHG92gbPsgMKOMjkwh2mpY8Flt8EKuaa08k4zcZt4hJird7LKs8EAsOGfLVh6ADZgVm3c7Ehi0sK3LtbzCAVgXH1krRKHPDSkM2GbDXkew9KADEa2jPwcgQA/s320/8+ball.jpg" /></a>Why no consumer packaged goods company has been able to market a new product more successful than the least successful new product ever created by product development expert Calle & Company and Martin Calle remains a mystery. Baked Lays Potato Chips, created by Calle & Company for Frito-Lay sold $319 million in it's first ten months. That's roughly double 2008's most successful new product conceived and developed some other way, Gatorade's $159 million G2. Can't compare salty snacks to beverages you say? Only if you want to close your eyes and believe "you" are the "knower of all things." And that's the problem with personal branding. You build alters to yourself.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Not to promote but Calle & Company's product developments have topped the charts at IRI, NPD and ACNielsen now for 57 consecutive years. And why? Because outward-looking forward-thinking executives reach out to them while straight-forward, linear-thinking problem-solvers do not. For example, while Calle & Company was working with highly talented cross functional teams at Frito-Lay to determine what consumers wanted next, others at Frito-Lay were busy pushing "supplier" concepts like Wow! Chips with Procter & Gamble's Olestra championed by Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi. And Wow! Chips with Olestra was barely able to fill the pipeline with $29 million worth of product.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">So how do you NOT end up behind the 8 ball while making your company one that headhunters respect? And what's the difference between hitting a home run and striking out? That's a good question. Many acquaintances in the human resources industry tell me they attend conferences where the main topic of conversation is the fact that even though they hire the top talent, top talent fails to deliver growth. Visiting McKinsey & Company's website one also finds in McKinsey's assessment of the consumer packaged goods industry that, "despite solid balance sheets and healthy bottom lines executives still wonder where growth will come from. So apparently, McKinsey's consultants don't have the answers either. On the internet, especially at sites like LinkedIn, one can find a host of professional organizations dealing with marketing, marketing research, innovation, social media, social networking and branding. Yet in the market research groups, especially the "Next Generation Market Research" group one finds post after post and discussion after discussion addressing my grandfather's market research techniques. If this is indeed "The Next Generation" then why are they using my father's and grandfather's marketing research tools? There's nothing "next generation" about it.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">So having covered those three aspects, consider the impact of working in these companies on your efforts to personally brand yourself. Afterall, this is, was, has been and will continue to be the era of "brand me."<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">On September 3, 2009 Business Week published <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_37/b4146042031508.htm">The Companies Headhunters Avoid: Recruiters are in surprising agreement as to which companies they avoid when looking for executive talent</a>. Companies such as The Coca-Cola Company figured prominently in the article and were I The Coca-Cola Company's Senior Vice President of Human Resources Cynthia P. McCaque I'd be concerned. The Coca-Cola Company has not launched a new product that ranked in IRI, NPD or ACNielsen's top ten annual pace setters for at least the last 25 years. The article details the inability of longtime Coca-Cola veterans to manage other companies effectively, including some of The Coca-Cola Company's prior luminaries.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">According to the Business Week article, "The conclusion among headhunters is that the very attributes that make Coke a great company—an iconic brand and an unmatched global distribution system—also make it too easy for young managers to rise without having to develop the entrepreneurial skills necessary to compete in other arenas." "Granted, working at Coke can make you comfortable—the stock has yielded a 24.8% total return over the past five years, vs. a 2.4% return for the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index—but recruiters say it may not make you management material anywhere else."<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">But read the entire article at Business Week and remember two things. It's what you learn once you know it all that counts, and, stay humble, there's always someone better right behind you. Reach out!<br />
</div>H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-32205853151163699492009-09-22T11:57:00.000-07:002009-09-22T12:00:22.663-07:00A New Job for The Marlboro Man<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZsUSd5ifdzO4ei18M-JBfcjzNt95O_-BgXe-qlylpmcem6jcpB1TfdXzcJsEbp3zhpUlgwmCeHvV4hX0nrRZB24Y0_topMke3hr457Yv0fVn0cT17jWeLzlkwRk8CuPB4-aCI/s1600-h/Marlboro+Man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" iq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZsUSd5ifdzO4ei18M-JBfcjzNt95O_-BgXe-qlylpmcem6jcpB1TfdXzcJsEbp3zhpUlgwmCeHvV4hX0nrRZB24Y0_topMke3hr457Yv0fVn0cT17jWeLzlkwRk8CuPB4-aCI/s320/Marlboro+Man.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>I have been given the task to repurpose/retask/reinvent or otherwise Socially (Re)Engineer® the Marlboro Man. I can't tell you by whom but I can tell you that I always thought Ralph Lauren or Stetson should launch a new fragrance for men called "Smoke" just in time for the holidays. The ingredient? That "liquid smoke" you find in the grocery store.H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-42917187439577771172009-09-18T13:30:00.000-07:002009-09-18T13:35:53.659-07:00The Use of Images in Market Research<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpJU3qclZtQ2FgZmTdLy_ihAzk7selqTUpCut3hAvA1RZYdPiepd6jgnqPUJNY-ndLzkfNXnWzCMiwbTL3uUeh2Y4RcEKPpr0RhKoYSn6kRcuB8Hff54il19dSFNY8i3kQdRxT/s1600-h/The+Scream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" iq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpJU3qclZtQ2FgZmTdLy_ihAzk7selqTUpCut3hAvA1RZYdPiepd6jgnqPUJNY-ndLzkfNXnWzCMiwbTL3uUeh2Y4RcEKPpr0RhKoYSn6kRcuB8Hff54il19dSFNY8i3kQdRxT/s320/The+Scream.jpg" /></a>Over at <a href="http://linkedin.com/">LinkedIn.com</a> I've been tracking an interesting discussion on the use of images in market research among members (myself included) of the Next Generation Market Research Group started by Ricardo Lopez, President of <a href="http://www.hispanicresearch.com/">Hispanic Research, Inc</a>. We've confronted the use of images in research since 1953 finding that whenever you use images you tend to cement images and emotions in place rather than promote discussion beyond those bounds and any advertising agency would agree; and so we switched to "written" creative and stimulative materials finding that they better enabled the respondent's mind to wonder/wander, the way reading a good book forces you to use your imagination and imagine a scene based on individual perceptions and frames of reference to discuss rather than have it presented as a done deal long ago. And with better business building results.<br />
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But what is the risk of using images to present ideas? Both Washington Mutual Bank (once the biggest bank west of the Rockies) and Kahn's/Hillshire Farms presented images to respondents to get a bead on how to present their brands to consumers. Both WAMU and Kahn's/Hillshire Farms showed people pictures of farmers dressed in blue jeans and flannel shirts, and scientists dressed in stached shirts and lab coats. There were a range of other images. Obviously, being based in Seattle with lots of rain, forest and hippies, WAMU was perceived to be the "friendly" bank while arch rivals Bank of America and Wells Fargo were perceived to be "those evil starched shirt corporate guys not to be trusted." Similarly, Kahn's/Hillshire Farms products were percieved to be made by honest "farmers" while Swift-Eckrich products were percieved "made and processed" by corporate food scientists in stainless steel by men wearing starched white lab coats." So which image is more appealing? And is this really insight? I think not.<br />
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Using this data, though accurate, did not move either business ahead. For friendly WAMU and Kahn's/Hillshire Farms; neither grew their customer base, sustain growth nor were they any more effective at retaining customers. That usually happens when you show people what they want to see. The wisdom of crowds it is not. WAMU got bought out by evil Chase due to its inability to weather a financial crisis and Kahns/Hillshire Farm was sold to the evil white coat guys - erasing all the research time, money and advertising spent on work that went down the drain. What a waste of career time.<br />
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Anyway, why does the practice of using images in research persist? And why do academics promote such? Because pictures in research promote what people in the medical community (doctors) call "SEARCH SATISFACTION." A condition where the care or answer givers simply stop looking for better answers when they find one that "works." So should images really be a part of Next Generation Market Research? Well?H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33082850.post-11478338528917026982009-09-16T10:50:00.000-07:002009-09-16T10:52:57.231-07:00Laura Ries Dishes on GM at Ries Pieces<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5kmiBPFCkc797ChCCOE4UftJL-iz4jPx3yRjKlNA_95BYkK9exunEHEtnr2Tz90kfxpf7c4u2ngfLHIrBHT3Ca8ntg8pg1iFoRXBvI5gVWcyze-v7RPKTWzgpP66XPQiiaav3/s1600-h/Laura+Ries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5kmiBPFCkc797ChCCOE4UftJL-iz4jPx3yRjKlNA_95BYkK9exunEHEtnr2Tz90kfxpf7c4u2ngfLHIrBHT3Ca8ntg8pg1iFoRXBvI5gVWcyze-v7RPKTWzgpP66XPQiiaav3/s320/Laura+Ries.jpg" /></a></div>If you haven't read Laura's posts at <a href="http://ries.typepad.com/ries_blog/">Ries' Pieces</a> get a move on! Her current installment on GM, called <a href="http://ries.typepad.com/ries_blog/2009/09/gm-the-implication-of-the-opposite.html">"GM & The Implication of the Opposite"</a> hits the mark and commenting readers are posting interesting follow ups. Now, my chief strategic problem with GM's promotional money back guarantee is that it doesn't build positive business OR brand perceptions, it tears them down due to one immutable law of marketing, advertising, branding and sales. When one trades on price, your brand equity sinks so low you have to climb up a ladder to get to the bottom. This strategy is installing the "Kill Bits®" in people's minds and perceptions that depress their response to advertising, marketing, branding and sales efforts - a far cry from correctly Socially Engineering® the company and brand's turnaround. We're observing Fall of Rome calibre strategy at GM because they really don't understand their consumer and they are unwilling to listen in the ways required to give them what they want.H. Martin Callehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169218556002941483noreply@blogger.com0