Noise. Branded

Imagine this, you walk into a supermarket and go ahead with your weekly or monthly purchase routine. Let’s take an example of a guy’s case. Let’s name him John and let’s make some assumptions (some bordering on generalizations, but just to make a point). Now let’s profile him.

John is a 35 year old male working as an Insurance Broker with an MNC. He is married and has 2 kids. A complete family man, he takes pride in the fact that he manages a good home, a lovely wife with 2 kids. However he knows that behind this ‘meticulous’ management, are some very regular trade offs he makes. ‘Informed decisions’ as he believes - wherein he tries to assess the ‘real worth’ of a product - be it a vacation, or his kid’s school bag, or a new shaving lotion or even a hair care product - and makes sure that he doesn’t pay more than its perceived worth. At the same time, he is not your typical coupon collector or one who jumps on discounts or sale promotions in order to shop.  He doesn’t compromise on quality while he provides for his family. He believes that money well equals commensurate value realised.

So now with this image in mind, let’s say he goes shopping for him and his family (with a grocery list from his wife and a mental list that he has made for himself and for family). 

Soup: may be he picks up what his wife asked him to

Baking Powder: same as above

Cooking oil: buys an oil that purports a story of health

Shaving foam: his regular, based on habit may be

Shampoo for him: may be his regular brand ‘coz he prefers its fresh ‘after feel’

Shampoo for his kids: as per his wife’s list, or may be something that speaks about mildness with a story of how some ingredients are essential for nourishment of hair

Soap: Soaps and Shampoos tend to be the kind of category with a ridiculous levels of variety and choice. He obviously knows that a soap is a soap is a soap and is after all meant to cleanse as its basic feature. Yet given a price he pays for it, he expects it to offer ‘something more’ - may be a kind of fragrance he is used to or a fragrance he seeks, or say a story around freshness and how great it is to feel clean and fresh, or may be some story around ingredients that are known to be beneficial for skin etc

May be.. yes? Now just assume that it was you at this position at this point in time. Just think that you are shopping for a toilet soap. Would you want something that just cleanses? If so, you are better off with a cheap detergent soap..right? So wouldn’t you seek out for ‘an additional feature(s)’ from your soap? Be it a brand story that it is so good for your skin, or an natural ingredient story, or may be some imagery of how awesomely fresh it makes you feel,.. you get the drift right?

Now if I were to stand there in the store (of course not as my actual self but as a very popular company that you have always known. A company that ironically also sells soaps with masculine fragrances, ‘coz you need to smell like a man, man ) and try to sell you a soap saying that “it is nothing but a soap as in a soap which looks like a soap feels like a soap and nothing else. Not made from any special ingredient, nothing special, just a white bar of soap that, again if I may repeat, just acts like a soap.”

Would you buy it? In fact would you even stop for a moment and consider it?

Would John consider it? Would he spend his money on something that is say a dollar cheaper than the other soap, yet says it is “JUST A SOAP and nothing else”?

Congratulations to the team behind Ivory for successfully commoditising a 140+ old history, a rich story of heritage, a brand associated with apocryphal urban legends in just one shot! Congratulations for redesigning its brand elements like typeface, positioning, colors etc and thereby spending good amounts of money to do just one thing - stripping the brand off all its wonderful associations and painstakingly reminding the consumer that what they have known of Ivory as a brand of soap is in reality after all JUST A SOAP. Nothing else. 

Wow!! From the company that came some truly smart campaigns, I am surprised, shocked and in fact concerned to see a live case study of how a brand of nearly 150 years history can be shot in the head - point blank!

Let me try again: “You need to buy my soap, ‘coz it is after all just that - A soap”

I’m still curious - would YOU buy it? Or is it just me?

- from a genuine fan of Old Spice Campaign (so that you don’t attribute my blog post as anti competitive)

PS: The views provided here are solely mine in my personal capacity and not related to any other person dead or alive, or any company big or small for which I might have or haven’t worked for! 

Off late I’ve consumed the following. nice reads :)

Hegarty on Advertising

Made to stick

Black Jack Vol 1

Black Jack Vol 3

Many more are…WIP (work in progress) ;)

Exclusivity

Auction houses thrive on this. Get an item that is in limited (or a one off) supply and make people bid for it at the altar of exclusivity. Just the fact that this specific item is in short supply could potentially activate a ridiculous amount of (dormant) demand, trigger a desire, and then interestingly morph into a ‘want’ and before you pinch yourself to test your senses, manifest itself into a fanatic ‘need’ in people who are then psyched up into splashing obscene amounts of money just to own this story of exclusivity.

Marketers dealing in products across the entire spectrum from diamonds to deodorants try very hard to trigger this impulse of envy in the name of exclusive releases or limited edition products! But is exclusivity the only attribute required to ‘generate such value’ over night? Unlikely. I guess there is another side to the coin. 

And that’s called a ‘story’. Weave an exquisite story around your product and create an exclusivity around it, and you would see yourself on the edge of evangelising envy! 

Betabrand proved to be a glaring example to prove this. An online clothing story who are hell bent to offer you nothing but the newest clothing & apparell collection  that is always refreshed at an alarming pace. As part of this they released clothing along the seven deadly sins: gluttony, envy, wrath, lust, sloth, greed and vanity. I particularly loved how they executed ‘envy’.

They weaved a brilliant story of what went into the making of these pair of trousers. You SHOULD read the story here (click on story). + They made only one pair of such trousers. Obviously they auctioned this and they raked up nearly a GRAND for one single pant!

You must have no doubt read so many write ups about Steve Jobs in the wake of his resignation from the Apple of the world. No exception here, as each day I get to read so many interesting articles and a number of ‘post mortems’ of his role as the CEO, the salesman, the evangelist of most (if not all) products that ever came out from Apple’.  I was reading this artcile on Steve Jobs at Fast Co.Design and have found it very insightful.  A few snippets:  

• If you listen to Steve Jobs’s presentations over the years, he comes across not as the creator of a product so much as its very first fan—the first person to digest its possibilities.
• A reporter who asked Jobs about the market research that went into the iPad was famously told, “None. It’s not the consumers’ job to know what they want.”
• He is a focus group of one, the ideal Apple customer, two years out.
• It’s almost certain that Jobs has killed far more great ideas than he ever let live—there are 313 patents under his name covering everything from packaging to user interfaces.
• He has taught his entire organization to play in the span of product generations rather than just product introductions: Apple designers say that now, each design they create has to be presented alongside a mock-up of how that design might evolve in the second or third generation.

• When Steve Jobs has fancied himself the chief creator, disastrous failures often ensued (eg: Apple Cube)
• He was also openly disdainful of the Internet in the late 1990s.

My previous post was about Groupon, and I couldn’t help but notice not one but two cartoons by the very insightful marketing cartoonist: Tom Fishburne. Click on any of his cartoons and you would get a write up with insights coupled with humour, with a generous dash of reality and seductive topping of realistic sarcasm. 

After having received relentless mails everyday on some or the other offer and after reading so many write ups on the business model of GroupOn I couldn’t help but confess my realization of 2 trends that seem to be playing out vis-a-visa GroupOne:

1. Democracy is now online and is becoming an unassailable online force at that.  Marketers better take note!

2. “Marketers.. please don’t pander to the lure of volumes by sacrificing value. Be selective and selective and yes selective while pandering to this ‘democracy’. “

As Tom says:

“While 50-90% discounts are right for certain brands and business models, the daily deal mindset doesn’t drive loyalty. It trains customers to buy your brand on deal.”

The key words? Value Sales, Volume Sales, Brand Equity and yes good old Loyalty.

1 year from now it would be interesting to see: 

1. How many new brands would owe their presence to GroupOn (I see so many merchant establishments in Singapore that have begun to scream “notice-me” sailing on the wave of GroupOn)

2. How many establishments would owe their soon-to-come-absence to GroupOn (a related story)

It’s always like an “OMG I didn’t quite see it that way” moment, when we begin to discover what some business models actually are. For eg, a number of years ago I remember the first time when someone told me that McDonald’s is actually NOT in Burgers business but in real estate business. (There is actually a How Stuff Works page that explains how the back bone of its business model is real estate!). I felt awed at the parallel and suddenly became aware of all those unseen opportunities that become the back bone of business models themselves.

Similarly, last year, it dawned upon me (again from an insightful article) that twitter is actually in water cooler business! Hang on , not in the literal sense of the word, but yes in the metaphorical sense. Water cooler is a place where people bump into each other and exchange ‘Hi’s, ‘Hello’s, How do you do’s and occasionally  exchange tidbits and updates. If I come to think about it, isn’t that what Twitter is doing?

Anyway, the point is, that I have read this blog by Joshua Gans and he makes a case that GroupOn is actually in Memory business. Hmm„ may be you could argue, may be not. But what stuck me as insightful was the fact that GroupOn seems to be missing some obvious opportunities at hand. For eg: If I were to buy a coupon as a gift to my near and dear, can’t GroupOn capture that and leverage it as a potential opportunity to sell more similar coupons to me in the future? By tracking user specific purchase trends, can’t it bargain for more relevant discount coupons and do a gmail-like user interest based coupon delivery system? Groupon already has the database of every single user and can easily track the trends of the individual subscribers (atleast in a significant number of cases where the usage and buy in rate is higher than average).

That way, I don’t receive a coupons that are completely irrelevant to me. That way I am willing to sit up and take notice. That way I am eager to act, as the offer in question pertains to my interest.

Speaking of which, I am reminded of this great book store that has a presence in Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, China and Taiwan (phew! last time I knew they had presence only in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan). I somehow I so loved their interior, decor, ambience and over all feel (and better still has a store near to where I live) - that I ended up taking their My One Card (a loyalty card that rewards me with 5-10% discount on each book that you buy).   

Each time I buy a book, they just need to be shown the card and you get a discount. Now that’s bad. Why? 

• The card effectively is transferable, meaning my friends can just borrow the card and leverage the discount. 
• They don’t do any entry of what book was bought against which card. Had they done that they would have an invaluable database of who has bought what books and at what times

I actually needed to buy the card as it is not free and had to fill in all my details to get the card. Hence the very fact that a customer holds a card means that he/she  is willing to be loyal to the store and has shared very valuable info about themselves. And most importantly each time they make a purchase they show to PageOne cashier what their interests are (after all your book needs to be scanned to charge you.. right?).

Pity that PageOne doesn’t even capture that in their database. A lost opportunity - of not being able to sell what is more relevant to me, of not being able to keep me hooked to the store, of not trying to cross sell me titles that fall under my area of interest.. all despite the fact that it has all the means to collect all the required info about me. 

Do you see any such lost opportunities around?

Just came across this Dilbert Strip. Couldn’t resist from posting it :)

Though the following blog post speaks about a specific product, I think the underlying insight has potential implications for marketers in a broader context.

Q: As a B2B business if you want to sell a product that is a more efficient work place management system,  how do you do it? 

Ans 1: By making a great presentation on how MORE efficient it is as opposed to other players?

Ans 2: By trying to convince that a client needs a work place management system (WPMS) by showing some case studies from past clients?

Arguably these might work in the case of those clients that already deploy a WPMS and as a marketer you could come across a a better vendor if you explain them what efficiencies you could bring in and what more costs you could help save and what better value you might help deliver.

But wait, what if this client is someone really big and who has never used any WPMS in the past? And worse still, what if your product is the new kid on the block? A challenge right? Everyone in this equation - you, your product and your customer are new and everything depends on how you would try to frame it, contextualize it, relate it and in summary position it in a more compelling and relevant way.

Though this sounds so obvious, just think about this paradox for a moment.

 ”a lot of people aren’t willing to embrace that they have a problem unless they also believe that there’s a solution… so part of selling a problem is hinting that there’s a solution that others are using, or is right around the corner.”

I think  it’s an amazing insight - an insight on the basis of which roomtag operates as we speak.

“Imagine, for example, getting the data and publishing a list of the top 50 firms, ranked by efficiency of space use. All of a sudden, the bottom half of the list realizes that yes, in fact, they have something that they need to work on. If you knew that your firm was paying twice as much per associate as the competition, you’d realize that there’s a problem.”

Read this post by Seth Godin for further details.

For me this was a great insight about marketing a B2B and also B2C product. Now having read the above and having checked out Seth Godin’s post, what do you have to say about the recent $80 Million Office 2010 Ad Campaign?

I always wondered why I haven’t come across many (or any for that matter) beer brands that bottle their beer in clear bottles as opposed to brown or green tinted ones. I know there are some practical issues involved in this - like the beer loosing its freshness and character (if I may call it so) if it is directly exposed to sun. But I have always felt that this could be a great opportunity for any brand to capitalize upon as they can potentially use it as a strong differentiating point in terms of packaging -  if they can somehow succeed a workaround for the physics and the chemistry of the beer formulation and come up with clutter breaking clear bottled packaging.  

Finally today I stumble upon what looks like a solution to this (sub-conscious) quests of mine. I learnt about Millers High Life Beer and have learnt why it is called as the “Champagne of the beers”. I learnt that it’s packaging has been redesigned. (By Landor) And better still, it comes in clear bottle packaging :)

Read the article here. 

I read the above article in conjunction with the following extract from wikipedia and that helped me connect some dots.

“Miller High Life—This beer was put on the market in 1903 and is Miller Brewing’s oldest brand. High Life is grouped under the pilsner category of beers and is 4.7% ABV. The prevailing slogan on current packaging is “The Champagne of Beers”, an adaptation of its long standing slogan “The Champagne of Bottle Beers”. Accordingly, this beer is noted for its high level of carbonation, making it a very bubble-filled beverage, like champagne. It was originally available in miniature champagne bottles and was one of the premier high-end beers in the country for many years. Except for a brief period in the 1990s, High Life bottles have always been quite distinctive, as they have a bright gold label and are made of a clear glass that has a tapered neck like a champagne bottle. High Life has brought back its “Girl in the Moon” logo, which features by today’s standards a modestly dressed young lady that, by legend, is company founder Frederick Miller’s granddaughter. The “Girl in the Moon” logo was originally painted in the early 1900’s by an unknown artist and has since been re-painted by Nebraskan artist Mike Hagel, who added his own unique touch to it. High Life beat out 17 other contestants to take home the gold medal in “American-style Lagers” category at the 2002 World Beer Cup. High Life has enjoyed a resurgence recently, using its humorous “Take Back the High Life” campaign—which features a common sense-wielding deliveryman removing beer from non-High Life locations—to position the brand as “a good honest beer at a tasty price.”“

Some snippets of the  design:

Last month I was back from a very hectic set of trips to China and India. After the business leg of the trip I had a chance to extend it to a small vacation. Though the ‘vacation’ didn’t exactly turn out to be a pleasure trip, it has given me an opportunity to travel from the North to the South and to the East of India - by flight and also by trian. These travels have given me an opportunity to notice a few interesting things. Let me share one of them.

India, I see has slowly but certainly taken to reading - in a big way I mean. And there are no two ways about it. And I see a set of factors that seem to be responsible for this trend. I mean, a set of facts have just about managed to hit the consumer sweetspot on reading. Let me explain this from a marketer’s point of view.  

First, the Product: We are speaking about Chetan Bhagat’s books. Some common characterictics of his books:

• They are set against the backdrop of very contemporary Indian themes
• Have characters which could almost be any other middle class Indian with dreams and aspirations despite the very Indian compulsions and constraints
• Realistically reflect the paradox apparent in the new Indian milieu - politics, education, cricket, career, relationships etc

His books are almost like catching up with your childhood buddy after say 5-7 years and sitting over a few drinks as you exchange your stories about love, life, work and dreams ever since you have met last.

Price (INR 95): Everytime I come across a pirated books’ stall or vendor, I get to see all sorts of pirated editions. But there is one thing in common across all these cases - You would always find the ‘original’ edition of Chetan Bhagat’s books. This is because you can’t pirate his books with any more degree of sustainability. All his books are already priced at a comfortable low of Rs. 95, and it is as low as you can go down. In fact, if you shop online, chances are that you can get his books for an even lower price.

Anyway the point here is that though Chetan Bhagat might not necessarily smile his way to the bank with the price point he has chosen with Rupa & Co, it is for sure a very well thought out price point.

Place: By which I mean the distribution channels. Well you do have the typical channels like the books stores of different sizes and formats in metros, cities and big and small towns. But there is a particular channel of distribution that I want to focus on here - one that has lent itself to be a very relevant channel in this case. These are the small book stalls and vendors that you find throughout the length and breadth of India on its Railway Platforms.

They are very relevant in this case because of the following reasons: 

• Let’s consider the case of a serious reader. She casts her own aspersions at the idea of buying a novel on the railway platforms. She knows that they are priced higher than even in the swankiest malls in her town/city. So unless she is very tempted to buy one she doesn’t usually feel comfortable to buy novels from the vendor on the platform. In most cases she might just settle for a magazine (as they are priced as the price tag on them says). But if she knows that there is some novel that is a quick read for her, doesn’t tax either her mind or her purse much she has no qualms to fish out that 100Rs note and get a Chetan Bhagat book along with the 5Rs change.   
• Now let’s consider the case of a not so serious reader. She knows that she is not the ‘reader types’. Hence she doesn’t even consider a novel from the vendor at a railway platform. Novels for her are some ‘geeky stuff’ meant for those who have the right amount of patience and inclination. Nevertheless, she sometimes does crave for an ‘interesting’ time pass to while away her time on the train. So she prefers a very light reading material (even magazines can sometimes be seruios reading for her). Add to this the price, so unless she finds some book that is more conversational in tone, very Indian in theme (so that she can relate to it) with the right amount of masala and action and love and drama available at price that doesn’t make her feel guilty, she doesn’t even consider a novel at the vendor on the platform.

So you got it the main elements of the mix working right for Chetan Bhagat books. And lo behold! When I get down the train to check out the collection of books at the vendors on the platforms, I came across atleast one customer quickly handing over a note of 100Rs and asking for one of his books - at almost every decent sized station. Seriously! And yes the vendor clearly stacks all the books of Chetan Bhagat (all 4 of them) in every case. And inevitably, as I walk down the aisle in the compartment, I catch quite a number of people engrosssed in a Chetan Bhagat book. Please note that this is not a one off scenario! My journeys took me across different states through various stations and this scenario repeated time and again and yes even on a domestic flight that I took from Delhi to Hyderabad! A passenger sitting right next to me was engrossed in 2 States.  

It was then that I realsied that something quite interesting has started to happen. More Indians are apparently taking to reading. It’s just that every elemenst of the mix has worked so well that they have hit bang on the consumer sweet spot! See for yourself. Travel and just keep your eyes open around you. You are bound to notice it. This silent ‘revolution’ could in fact overwhelm you (in a way) as it did me.