brand

A Predictable Failure: Kimberly-Clark Offering Kleenex Hand Towels

Source: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=124023&nid=112103

“Kimberly-Clark’s Kleenex brand is offering an at-home version of a product that people take for granted in public restrooms: disposable hand towels. The new Kleenex Hand Towels are intended to address consumers’ growing concern with hand hygiene.

The product is on sale now with a retail price of about $3 for a box of 60 towels, per the company.

The Kleenex Hand Towels come in box packaging, with pop-up delivery. The product is intended to complement bathroom décor and space limitations — i.e., it can go on a towel bar or countertop.

Kleenex Hand Towels performed well in preliminary testing with consumers, the company says: Approximately two-thirds said they would use Kleenex Hand Towels as a substitute for cloth towels, and more than 90% reacted favorably to how the product and package design looked in their bathrooms.”

They used FOCUS GROUPS! And 2/3 said they would use! But think about it: $3 a box versus cloth towels I already have at home. At home, I don’t use disposable hand towels and at home I am not concerned about “hand hygiene” as I am in a public bathroom.

Tags: amp, bar, bathroom, bathrooms, box, box packaging, brand, Clark, cloth, cloth towels, company, concern, consumers, countertop, décor, delivery, design, disposable hand towels, focus, focus groups, GROUPS, growing concern, hand, hand hygiene, home, hygiene, Kimberly, kimberly clark, Kleenex, nid, package, packaging, price, Product, public bathroom, retail price, sale, Source, space, space limitations, substitute, TESTING, towel, towel bar, Towels, two thirds, version

Thursday, March 11th, 2010 Uncategorized No Comments

The Ten Commandments of Modern Marketing

Thou shalt not target customers with messages they don’t want.
Thou shalt be truthful.
Thou shalt respect your customers.
Thou shalt make it easy for people to find you.
Thou shalt be useful.
Thou shalt make it easy for people to pass along.
Thou shalt measure and optimize.
Thou shalt listen to customers.
Thou shalt remove any organizational barriers to speedy, collaborative innovation.
Thou shalt not do brand-ing.

Thanks for all the retweets!

WSI_ComandixI’m not Moses, but here’s The Ten Commandments of Modern Marketing http://ow.ly/TQuh

iamdanmoriartyThis is awesome – the 10 commandments of modern marketing http://bit.ly/7l8aBw – All very true, but especially #9!

tombutlin10 Commandments of modern marketing http://bit.ly/8MNo8g by @acfou. It doesn’t get clearer than this.

SuzzicksRT @AnnaMariaVirzi: How true, @acfou! Online marketing commandment no. 5: Thou shalt be useful http://www.clickz.com/3636027

acfouThou Shalt Not Target Customers (even with #BehavioralTargeting): Ten Commandments of Modern Marketing #marketing – http://bit.ly/8U3iI6

matt_mcgowanRT @AnnaMariaVirzi: How true, @acfou! Online marketing commandment no. 5: Thou shalt be useful http://www.clickz.com/3636027

indie_preneurThe 10 commandments of modern marketing — are you playing nicely? http://www.clickz.com/3636027 /via @AnnaMariaVirzi

pedrogomezGreat read: 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing: http://bit.ly/6f3F5d

AnnaMariaVirziHow true, @acfou! Online marketing commandment no. 5: Thou shalt be useful http://www.clickz.com/3636027

horacemitchell10 commandments of modern marketing http://short.to/12npj

fonstuinstra10 Commandments of Modern Marketing – ClickZ http://ow.ly/TOgq (h/t Jan van den Bergh)

GetPushingRT @GranerCreative: 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://tinyurl.com/y8mahr5 #marketing

MarComNetworkRT @GranerCreative: 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://tinyurl.com/y8mahr5 #marketing

GranerCreative10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://tinyurl.com/y8mahr5 #marketing

jevedebe10 Commandments of Modern Marketing. http://tr.im/JJ1A

TemplateZonepretty solid guidelines – maybe someone should carve them into stone tablets! http://bit.ly/6f3F5d

theviragomedia10 Commandments of Modern Marketing – ClickZ http://bit.ly/7HKYGI

GreeneMarketRT @acfou: Thou Shalt Not Do Brand-ing: Ten Commandments of Modern Marketing #marketing #whatwereyouthinking – http://bit.ly/8U3iI6

MoniqueElwellexcellent reading: Augustine Fou Thou Shalt Not Do Brand-ing: Ten Commandments of Modern Marketing #marketing http://htxt.it/E3ut

PeteHealyAugustine Fou’s “10 Commandments of Modern Marketing” @acfou http://j.mp/5MWrLr #in

jessweissAll communications must be relevant, respectful, etc. @sarahebourne @andylarrimore The 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://ow.ly/TLCI

sarahebourneTrue! RT @andylarrimore I think I will revise these slightly to the 10 Commandments of Web Content – http://ow.ly/TI0V

blakeandwhite10 Commandments of Modern Marketing – from @ClickZ. Great list, @acfou! http://bit.ly/5MWrLr

TachmanRT @PDMAffiliates 10 Modern Marketing Commandments: http://bit.ly/5MWrLr #advertising

TdF_ConsultantsRT @berteloot: 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://bit.ly/6f3F5d

DecorcatsRT @berteloot: 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://bit.ly/6f3F5d

BrandojoRT @acfou: Thou Shalt Not Do Brand-ing: Ten Commandments of Modern Marketing #marketing #whatwereyouthinking – http://bit.ly/8U3iI6

acfouThou Shalt Not Do Brand-ing: Ten Commandments of Modern Marketing #marketing #whatwereyouthinking – http://bit.ly/8U3iI6

berteloot10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://bit.ly/6f3F5d

pamdyerColumn: Modern marketing must focus on today’s consumers http://bit.ly/8g3EGJ 10 commandments for marketing in 2010

TaiKolenkoAn awesome article on Modern Marketing! I like the comment, “the sun is setting on the era of big “push” advertising.” http://bit.ly/5MWrLr

KFinneganThe 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing – http://bit.ly/90GhVq

DistribionDMRT @AdLocal: Reading 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://www.clickz.com/3636027

AnteroDiasCommandments of Modern Marketing – A list of the 10 rules every marketer should follow to meet consumer needs in 2010: http://bit.ly/5MWrLr

AdLocalReading 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://www.clickz.com/3636027

patriciahader#Measure and optimize on the 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing list http://bit.ly/8vQ1w6 via ClickZ

_Vanessa_V10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://www.clickz.com/3636027

HamiltonWallaceRT @acfou: Ten Commandments to help “marketing sinners” become saints – http://bit.ly/8U3iI6

seewhatcouldbe10 Commandments of Modern Marketing – ClickZ: http://www.clickz.com/3636027 via @addthis

winsell10 Commandments of Modern Marketing – ClickZ: http://www.clickz.com/3636027 via @addthis

mnm8312Reading 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://www.clickz.com/3636027

andylarrimoreI think I will revise these slightly to the 10 Commandments of Web Content – http://ow.ly/TI0V

PedroBravoNada de hacer branding y otros 9 mandamientos de marketing moderno http://www.clickz.com/3636027

davidamoore10 Commandments of Modern Marketing – ClickZ http://bit.ly/5MWrLr

shannonholatoRT @cmo4hire: Read 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing, #10 No Brand-ing http://www.clickz.com/3636027

everyspoon10 Commandments of Modern Marketing. Learn them. Love them. Live them. Especially #5: Thou shalt be useful. http://www.clickz.com/3636027

zapalaFZKReading 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://www.clickz.com/3636027

joshua_dthou shall be useful & truthful – RT @gerardodada: Reading 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://www.clickz.com/3636027 – all true

MMG_Works10 Commandments of Modern Marketinghttp://bit.ly/8UVG1J

gerardodadaReading 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://www.clickz.com/3636027 – all true

PDMAffiliates10 Modern Marketing Commandments: http://bit.ly/5MWrLr #affiliate #advertising

BizIncubationRT @mediatrustpete 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing – ClickZ: http://www.clickz.com/3636027 by @acfou chief digital officer

mediatrustpeteMust Read for Marketers : 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing – ClickZ: http://www.clickz.com/3636027 by @acfou chief digital officer

MetaResponse10 Marketing Tips; http://bit.ly/5MWrLr

shiraadattoBrilliant as always! RT @acfou Ten Commandments to help “marketing sinners” become saints – http://bit.ly/8U3iI6

raysmannaTen Commandments to help “marketing sinners” become saints RT@acfou http://bit.ly/8U3iI6

acfouTen Commandments to help “marketing sinners” become saints – http://bit.ly/8U3iI6

gmcdanielGood #marketing advice. Thanks for sharing! RT @Intouchsol: The 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing- from @ClickZ http://bit.ly/6f3F5d

ChurchChair10 Commandments of Modern Marketing – ClickZ: http://www.clickz.com/3636027 via @addthis

IntouchsolThe 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing- from @ClickZ http://bit.ly/6f3F5d

delpierreReading 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://www.clickz.com/3636027

AdsMitchell#Marketing | 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://www.clickz.com/3636027

Datadude09Reading 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://www.clickz.com/3636027 Nothing we don’t already know but still interesting.

debbieswiderLove this from the ClickZ crew: 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing! http://bit.ly/6f3F5d

cmo4hireRead 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing, #10 No Brand-ing http://www.clickz.com/3636027

CollinsCompany10 Commandments of Modern Marketing – ClickZ: http://www.clickz.com/3636027 via @addthis

susanjspauldingRT @RoyMorejon: 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing – http://zi.ma/86997a

pablorazziRT @gnewell: 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://bit.ly/4RC4K1

gnewell10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://bit.ly/4RC4K1

glenngabe10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://bit.ly/75GhEK -great post by @acfou. I found myself nodding in agreement through most of it.

RoyMorejon10 Commandments of Modern Marketing – http://zi.ma/86997a

acfouHappy 2010! Ten Commandments to help “marketing sinners” become saints – http://bit.ly/8U3iI6

Sharon_Higbee10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://bit.ly/6khoUG

thenameshopnz10 Commandments of Modern Marketing – ClickZ: http://www.clickz.com/3636027 via @addthis

Spunky_PR10 Commandments of Modern Marketing: http://www.clickz.com/3636027 http://bit.ly/8B5DZ7

jenkins123110 Commandments of Modern Marketing: On the other hand Sweetriot came out of nowhere, used no paid advertising .. http://bit.ly/5yKvpX

jenkins123110 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://bit.ly/5yKvpX

Jeff_Scarpo10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://bit.ly/5yKvpX

beeyourfriend10 Commandments of Modern Marketing – ClickZ: Some people start the new year with resolutions. I thought, why not … http://bit.ly/5hjQZJ

friendfollower10 Commandments of Modern Marketing – ClickZ: Some people start the new year with resolutions. I thought, why not … http://bit.ly/5hjQZJ

2koolsales10 Commandments of Modern Marketing: With digital tools, devices, and channels data and feedback can be obtaine.. http://bit.ly/5yKvpX

col250401RT @sponsordiddy: 10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://bit.ly/8uC7up

2adproshop10 Commandments of Modern Marketing: http://bit.ly/5GVRTl

EnterSuccess10 Commandments of Modern Marketing: On the other hand Sweetriot came out of nowhere, used no paid advertising of … http://bit.ly/6HLwmZ

jamieohler10 Commandments of Modern Marketing: On the other hand Sweetriot came out of nowhere, used no paid advertising of … http://bit.ly/4B39X4

marketingbot“10 Commandments of Modern Marketing” http://tinyurl.com/y8mahr5

GINFrank10 Commandments of Modern Marketing http://bit.ly/8dJM9l

HartHootonMarketing and #SocialMedia tips from Augustine Fou | RT @acfou: Ten Commandments of Modern Marketing #marketing – http://bit.ly/8U3iI6

Tags: acfou, acfouThou, advertiser, advertisers, advertising, andylarrimore, AnnaMariaVirzi, AnnaMariaVirziHow, audiences, banner ad, BehavioralTargeting, Bergh, berteloot, best buy, brand, Brand-ing, business, cell phone, click, ClickZ, collaboration, collaborative innovation, com, ComandixI, commandment, Commandments, consumer, consumers, content, decision, Dell, demographics, den, development, equipment ads, fashion magazines, feature, feedback, firestorm, focus, fonstuinstra, Fou, gardening equipment, GetPushingRT, GranerCreative, horacemitchell, IdeaStorm, indicator, indie, information, innovation, interaction, interest, Jan, jan van den, jevedebe, kryptonite bike lock, lead, LEGO, list, make, making, MarComNetworkRT, marketing, marketing marketing, mass media, matt, mcgowanRT, measure, minivan, Modern, modern marketing, Moses, MyStarbucksIdea, online, optimize, organizational barriers, output, PDMAffiliates, pedrogomezGreat, performance, person, preneurThe, print, process, Product, publicity, radio, Read, Relative, reputation, respect, search, Shalt, someone, something, Starbucks, stone, stuff, SuzzicksRT, target, telecommunications company, TemplateZonepretty, term, Thou, time, tombutlin, U.S., van, van den bergh, Vanessa, variables, volume, way, Web, web pages, Wendy, WSI

Thursday, January 7th, 2010 Uncategorized No Comments

Even Major Sites are Not Yet Benefiting From the Full Power of Search

@glenngabe’s post on FaceYahoogle – The Impact of Facebook, Yahoo, and Google on Website Traffic inspired me to also look at the search terms driving traffic. Most sites, even major ones have their own brand terms driving traffic. This is OK, but it is taking significantly less advantage of the full power of search.A more ideal scenario for sites is that they have a large number of non-brand terms driving traffic — i.e. the keywords they want to be known for are driving traffic to them. The premise is that if the user already knew the brand or brand name, it would be redundant for the advertiser to spend awareness ad dollars on them. The advertiser wants to get users to their site who do not already know their brand name. This is especially true for pharma drug websites, as you will see in the following examples.

GENERAL SITES

These sites have such a diverse set of products, services, or topics, we don’t expect the top search terms driving traffic to be anything other than their brand terms. But they should have a long tail of thousands of keywords driving traffic (and they are, in the following examples).

NYTimes.com

LinkedIn.com

Weather.com

CATEGORY SPECIFIC SITES

These sites focus on specific product categories, so one would expect that they should have keywords around their product category driving traffic — e.g. clothing, chocolate, wine, etc. But as you can see, most don’t and the total number of keywords driving traffic could be larger than it is now (implying more long tail keywords).

JCrew.com – clothing

Apple.com – computers, consumer electronics, iPod, music

Godiva.com – chocolate

AnnTaylor.com – clothing, women’s

SINGLE NICHE SITES

Such sites should be all over search terms that surround the topic areas that they want to be known for. But as you see from the analytics, most don’t. Instead, the top terms driving traffic are their own brand name. Again, if the user already knew the brand, additional advertising would be wasted on them. The sites need to make efforts to “own” additional keywords (or at least “show up at the party”) so people who don’t know the brand name might still have a chance finding them when they type in other keywords surrounding the specific niche.

Sutent (Pfizer) – cancer drug

Nucynta (J0hnson & Johnson) – pain drug

Spiriva (Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer) – COPD drug

NOTE: This is the best of the bunch of drug sites. COPD, the disease area they want to be known for, does actually show up in the first 5 search terms driving traffic, along with emphysema and their product name handihaler. Also, notice they have nearly 10 times the number of keywords driving traffic compared to the other 2 drugs cited (65 vs 7 or 8 )

Tags: advantage, adverti, advertiser, advertising, analytics, AnnTaylor, anything, apple, awareness, Boehringer Ingelheim, brand, brand name, category, chocolate, clothing, clothing women, com, consumer, consumer electronics, COPD, drug, Facebook, FaceYahoogle, full power, GENERAL, glenngabe, Godiva, google, impact, iPod, J0hnson & Johnson, JCrew, Johnson, LinkedIn, music, name, niche, Nucynta, number, NYTimes, Pfizer, pharma, post, power, premise, Product, product categories, product category, scenario, search, search terms, set, show, single, site, SITES, SPECIFIC, Spiriva, Sutent, tail, topic, topic areas, traffic, user, weather, website, wine, Yahoo

Sunday, December 6th, 2009 Uncategorized 1 Comment

Net Promoter Score (NPS) – A Metrics “Sacred Cow” That Should be Slaughtered?

My main issues with the Net Promoter Score (NPS) is that it doesn’t tell me anything new, is based on flawed math, the number cannot stand alone, and is not actionable (does not tell marketers what to go do).

Read More about Net Promoter Score Challenges

Thanks for all the retweets!

ZebraBites@adamferrier Another one for the NPS collection; http://www.clickz.com/3635696 (via @jhenning and @acfou)

acfouIt’s an “it is what it is” metric (which isn’t actionable) – #netpromoterscore #netpromoter #NPS - http://bit.ly/6EYyc

spiralsThought provoking Net Promoter article http://www.clickz.com/3635696 -Good idea to use search as an indicator of customer satisfaction

VirtualMRRT @berniemalinoff: RT @JHenning @acfou: Net Promoter Score (NPS) is synonymous with “useless” http://tr.im/Fgv3

seangibRT @glenngabe: What’s Wrong With the Net Promoter Score http://bit.ly/84Jh2P via @acfou on ClickZ – some interesting comments as usual w …

glenngabeWhat’s Wrong With the Net Promoter Score http://bit.ly/84Jh2P via @acfou on ClickZ – some interesting comments as usual w/Dr. Fou.

MetriclyWhat’s Wrong With the Net Promoter Score - http://bit.ly/8U3VVD

christinet6dOh snap… RT @lizapost What’s the value of the Net Promoter score? According to @acfou, not much. ‘http://bit.ly/6EYyc

lizapostWhat’s the value of the Net Promoter score? According to @acfou, not much. ‘What’s Wrong With the Net Promoter Score’http://bit.ly/6EYyc

berniemalinoffRT @JHenning @acfou: Net Promoter Score (NPS) is synonymous with “useless” http://tr.im/Fgv3 || healthy debate pros/cons of #NPS

contactjrFrom @acfou: What’s wrong with the Net Promoter Score? http://bit.ly/17ahJC

Noakesi@holycow RT @jonnylongden: RT @rj_berg: Great article on some of the problems with Net Promoter Score (NPS) http://bit.ly/2h5jot#measure

acfouNet Promoter Score (NPS) like brand sentiment scores are oversimplified averages that are not actionable - http://bit.ly/6EYyc

ju2ltdRT @jonnylongden: RT @rj_berg: Great article on some of the problems with Net Promoter Score (NPS) http://bit.ly/2h5jot #measure

jonnylongdenRT @rj_berg: Great article on some of the problems with Net Promoter Score (NPS) http://bit.ly/2h5jot #measure #retail – why use this?

Adtraction_RAJ_What’s Wrong With the Net Promoter Score http://bit.ly/17ahJC (mmm)

KarmaMediaLabs#NetPromoterScore not all it’s cracked up to be? Decide for yourself: http://bit.ly/17ahJC

EricheadRT @rj_berg: Great article on some of the problems with Net Promoter Score (NPS) http://bit.ly/2h5jot #measure #retail – why use this?

PeteHealyNet Promoter Score = useless; replace w/ search volume. Augustine Fou @acfou http://www.clickz.com/3635696 Your thoughts? #in

helena_chariRT @mrnews: #NPS ‘tells you the obvious, isn’t predictive, doesn’t answer the “So what?” question.’ http://bit.ly/1DqmgD (via @DavidPenn …

makingcjcAn it is what it is” metric…debate on the Net Promoter score. http://www.clickz.com/3635696

DannyGavinRT @EstherSteinfeld Interesting read: “What’s Wrong with the Net Promoter Score?” @acfou says, “So many things.”http://bit.ly/1ojkfk

ZaliciousRT @kevinertell: This is an excellent article on ClickZ: What’s Wrong With the Net Promoter Score http://www.clickz.com/3635696

hellosmalldogArticle about NPS is interesting – thanks to @mjayliebs for CCing us! We’re reading it now. (via @acfou, @wimrampen)http://tr.im/Fgv3

bigmacherRT @kevinertell: This is an excellent article on ClickZ: What’s Wrong With the Net Promoter Score http://www.clickz.com/3635696

DavashRT @rj_berg: Gr8 article: problems w/Net Promoter Score (#NPS) (http://bit.ly/2h5jot ) #measure [A grad of stats 101 could see all of this]

BobbleHeadGuruRT @rj_berg: Gr8 article: problems w/Net Promoter Score (#NPS) (http://bit.ly/2h5jot ) #measure [A grad of stats 101 could see all of this]

EstherSteinfeldInteresting read: “What’s Wrong with the Net Promoter Score?” @acfou says, “So many things.” http://bit.ly/1ojkfk

kevinertellThis is an excellent article on ClickZ: What’s Wrong With the Net Promoter Score http://www.clickz.com/3635696

rj_bergGreat article on some of the problems with Net Promoter Score (NPS) http://bit.ly/2h5jot #measure #retail

mjayliebsRT @wimrampen: Net Promoter Score (NPS) is synonymous with “useless” http://tr.im/Fgv3 (cc @hellosmalldog)

jestodcWhat’s Wrong With the Net Promoter Score http://www.clickz.com/3635696

jonathanmendez“NPS is what I call an “it is what it is” metric — it tells you the obvious” http://bit.ly/6EYyc

mrnews#NPS ‘tells you the obvious, isn’t predictive, doesn’t answer the “So what?” question.’ http://bit.ly/1DqmgD (via @DavidPenn1@jhenning)

DavidPenn1RT @jhenning RT @acfou: Net Promoter Score (NPS) is synonymous with “useless” http://tr.im/Fgv3 Maybe we need to take it less literally?

wimrampenRT @JHenning: RT @acfou: Net Promoter Score (NPS) is synonymous with “useless” http://tr.im/Fgv3

NicoPeruzziPhDRT @JHenning: RT @acfou: Net Promoter Score (NPS) is synonymous with “useless” http://tr.im/Fgv3 – the emperor has no clothes…

JHenningRT @acfou: Net Promoter Score (NPS) is synonymous with “useless” http://tr.im/Fgv3 Builds on my criticisms with some of his own.

acfouNet Promoter Score (NPS) is synonymous with “useless” (is based on bad math, is not actionable) – what say you? http://bit.ly/6EYyc

Tags: accurate indicators, acfou, acfouIt, acfouNet, adamferrier, Adtraction, Alone, Amazon, anything, apple, application, article, Augustine, berg, bergGreat, berniemalinoff, berniemalinoffRT, blog, BobbleHeadGuruRT, boots, brand, camera, cannot, CCing, challenges, chariRT, christinet, ClickZ, colleague, collection, company, customer, customer satisfaction, DannyGavinRT, DavashRT, DavidPenn, debate, debate pros, detractors, dimension, dOh, Dr. Fou, EricheadRT, EstherSteinfeld, everything, Facebook, forum, forum posts, Fou, friend, future sales, glenngabe, glenngabeWhat, gr8, grad, Great, Helena, hellosmalldogArticle, idea, indicator, industry, Insight, JHenning, jonnylongden, jonnylongdenRT, KarmaMediaLabs, kevinertell, Let, likelihood, list, lizapost, lizapostWhat, ltdRT, makingcjcAn, many things, marketers, math, measure, measurement, MetriclyWhat, metrics, mmm, Net, net promoter score, Net Promoter Score (NPS), netpromoter, NetPromoterScore, New, NPS, number, online, Paper, percent, percentage, PeteHealyNet, power, Predictive, predictive power, Product, product innovations, Promoter, promoters, pros cons, question, quick scan, quot, RAJ, Read, Read More, reading, rj berg, rt, satisfaction, scale, score, seangibRT, search, search volume, season, sentiment, service, snap, specific products, spiralsThought, stand, statuses, survey, time, use, value, VirtualMRRT, volume, Warner, way, wimrampen, word of mouth, ZaliciousRT, ZebraBites

Friday, November 20th, 2009 Uncategorized No Comments

The Grand Unified Theory of Marketing(tm) – Digital String Theory

Just as physicists and mathematicians have been searching for the grand unified theory of the universe, I have been looking for a way to tie together the disparate disciplines of marketing and advertising, a way to correlate metrics from different industries that interrelate with marketing (e.g. market research, Nielsen, etc.), a way to put all past theories in context and perspective (Michael Porter’s Five Forces, Net Promoter, etc.), and a way to explain marketing successes and failures — all in one.

My method is the scientific method – which is simply put doing experiments and making observations that either support or refute hypotheses.

A grand unified theory will also need to be able to take into account phenomena such as social networks, etc. What are the organizing principles of such; what is the value? Why now?

Using digital tools — such as search volume trends — we can start to correlate marketing spend effectiveness across different forms of media and also different advertising and marketing techniques. The example below compares eTrade and Drobo. What is most embarrassing is that eTrade, a well known brand from the first dot-com heyday, spent lots of money creating and airing TV ads which it hoped would go viral. They even paid for Superbowl ads for the last 2 years to promote the “eTrade talking babies” as you see from the 2 spikes in search volume during February of 2008 and 2009. However, when compared to Drobo (a startup company that developed a very easily upgradeable back up hard drive array), it is shocking to note that Drobo spent NOTHING on advertising and relied entirely on word of mouth and an awesome product. And their search volume is not only larger than eTrade but also sustainably larger despite zero advertising and media cost. The “totals” even suggest that the volume under the curve of Drobo is 8X (EIGHT TIMES) that of eTrade.

So if you consider that eTrade spent millions of dollars to create the TV ads and even more millions of dollars to air them on TV in order to drive interest, demand, and hopefully new customers, then Drobo can be considered to have gotten the equivalent of 8X more dollars in advertising and media – for FREE using techniques and channels other than TV advertising. So what does that say about the relative value of TV advertising compared to these other, newer techniques?

godaddy vs megan fox

Tags: account, advertising, array, brand, company, context, curve, demand, Digital String Theory, digital tools, disparate disciplines, drive, drive array, Drobo, effectiveness, EIGHT, eight times, equivalent, etrade, example, February, fox, FREE, godaddy, grand unified theory, Grand Unified Theory of Marketin, heyday, hypotheses, interest, interrelate, lots of money, market, market research, marketing, marketing spend effectiveness, marketing techniques, mathematicians, Megan, method, metrics, Michael Porter, money, mouth, Net, net promoter, Nielsen, nothing, order, perspective, phenomena, physicists, Product, Promoter, research, scientific method, search, search volume, social networks, startup, startup company, successes and failures, superbowl, superbowl ads, support, theory, theory of the universe, Times, tv ads, universe, value, volume, volume trends, way, word

Thursday, October 29th, 2009 Uncategorized No Comments

A new definition of “digital” – the collection of habits and expectations of modern users

By defining “digital” as not the technology, device, or channel, but rather the habits and expectations of modern users, we are able to make practical decisions about which marketing tactics, technologies, devices, and channels to use to match these users’ habits and expectations. If you know their habit is to search, then you wouldn’t blow your whole budget on TV ads and have nothing for them to find online when they search. if you believe they expect to be able to find information from their iPhones, then you wouldn’t make your whole site high bandwidth, flashy, and Flash because they wont be able to view it at all.

Thank you all for your comments and retweets.

HamiltonWallaceA New Definition of Digital: http://bit.ly/2deV5u Article nails how “digital” is changing behavior. Listen-up marketers!

glenngabeA New Definition of ‘Digital’ http://bit.ly/2deV5u via @acfou on ClickZ

belindaangRT @randymatheson: Do we need a new definition of ‘Digital’? | ClickZ http://ow.ly/qZ4N

randymathesonDo we need a new definition of ‘Digital’? | ClickZ http://ow.ly/qZ4N

jonnylongdenRT @arkley68: Good post by @acfou – A New Definition of ‘Digital’ – http://www.clickz.com/3635052 #measure #roi

BennaPReading: the new definition of ‘digital’ from @acfou -via Clickz – excellent and informative read http://www.clickz.com/3635052

bwhigamInteresting POV – A New Definition of ‘Digital’ – http://bit.ly/2deV5u

MJinNYCRT @acfou – Branding is dead; targeting is dying; social media is not media- A new definition of digital? – http://bit.ly/TTTPC

acfouBranding is dead; targeting is dying; social media is not media – if you believe this new definition of “digital” – http://bit.ly/TTTPC

SgtWiggidyA new definition of Digital – http://bit.ly/2deV5u – Good Read!

jacqueswarrenNot so hot about his definition of digital, but this is certainly an action packed article !! http://bit.ly/2deV5u

Adtraction_RAJ_The new definition of digital – not just websites anymore. http://bit.ly/pAfEP

arkley68Good post by @acfou – A New Definition of ‘Digital’ – http://www.clickz.com/3635052 #measure #roi

MPPR755DCSRT @kathymbaird Defining ‘digital’ http://tinyurl.com/yb5f9tq I work with a ‘digital’ team I teach a ‘digital’ course. This about sums it up

jeanaandersonI just had this conversation at an interview Tues: Is Digital killing the brand? Is creative losing its pull? http://www.clickz.com/3635052

RaynaNyc‘A New Definition of Digital’ http://bit.ly/Xn2Gr Thought provoking post by @acfou (via clickz)

HeidiPatmoreRT @Jussipekka Reading A New Definition of ‘Digital’ (via @DaGood) http://www.clickz.com/3635052

kathymbairdDefining “digital” http://tinyurl.com/yb5f9tq. I work with a “digital” team. I teach a “digital” course. This about sums it up.

mktmobileA New Definition of ‘#Digital’: is not about products, it’s all about habits and expectations http://bit.ly/iTH67

fsdigitalA New Definition of ‘Digital’? : http://bit.ly/moxhd

konsultantasRT @baltix A New Definition of ‘Digital’ http://htxt.it/ZnVv

JussipekkaReading A New Definition of ‘Digital’ (via @DaGood) http://www.clickz.com/3635052

baltixA New Definition of ‘Digital’ http://htxt.it/ZnVv

sunshooter81A New Definition of ‘Digital’: Many people actively search for things online. And the moment they type i.. http://bit.ly/19irO8

DeanLandRecommended reading. Good piece from AC Fou: RT @acfou: How do you define “digital”? I define it thusly … http://bit.ly/TTTPC

acfouHow do you define “digital”? I define it thusly … http://bit.ly/TTTPC

LevickHow the new definition of “digital” is shaping marketing trends (from @acfou) http://bit.ly/Xn2Gr

Tags: acfou, action, Adtraction, arkley, article, baltix, bandwidth, behavior, belindaangRT, BennaPReading, brand, Branding, budget, changing behavior, channel, ClickZ, conversation, course, DaGood, DCSRT, decisions, definition, device, digital, flash, fsdigitalA, glenngabeA, Good, habit, HamiltonWallaceA, HeidiPatmoreRT, high bandwidth, information, interview, iphones, jacqueswarrenNot, jeanaandersonI, jonnylongdenRT, Jussipekka, kathymbaird, konsultantasRT, Listen-up, losing, marketers, marketing, marketing tactics, measure, Media, MJinNYCRT, mktmobileA, MPPR, nails, New, nothing, online, ow, post, POV, pull, RAJ, randymatheson, randymathesonDo, RaynaNyc, Read, ROI, SgtWiggidyA, site, team, technology, technology device, Thought, tinyurl, Tues, tv ads, whole budget, wont

Thursday, September 24th, 2009 Uncategorized No Comments

Concept: Starbucks iPhone App – order ahead, pay, ready for pickup

a concept of how a brand can solve a real-world problem using a virtual app – the lines at some Starbucks are excruciatingly long; this app allows the user to order ahead, pay, and then just go pick up.

Tags: app, brand, concept, iphone app, kinesthetics, problem, real world, Starbucks, Starbucks iphone app, user, world problem

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 Uncategorized No Comments

Branding is still a useful activity? Reach and frequency is still a useful metric?

Source: http://community.microsoftadvertising.com/blogs/analytics/archive/2009/07/06/getting-back-to-basics-why-web-advertising-needs-traditional-media-metrics.aspx

Getting Back to Basics – Why Web Advertising Needs Traditional Media Metrics

posted Mon, Jul 06 2009

by Young Bean Song MSFT

Trying to build a brand marketing campaign without traditional target reach and Gross Rating Points (GRP) estimates is like trying to diet without the concept of calories. The analogy of dieting and advertising works on many levels.

continue reading Young Bean Song…

My response…

RE: “Patty Wakeling, an industry veteran who leads Unilever’s Global Media Insights Group, recently reminded me that in today’s retail environment, the choice between the branded versus the generic option are separated by less than an inch on the shelf. It was a sobering reminder of the power of branding, and why so many companies are willing to spend so much to build their brand equity.” But in the case of Whole Foods’ own store brand, 365, many people perceive it to be better than branded options (or at least equivalent). So they tend to choose to buy the 365 product instead. In other cases, what used to be brand equity/value is now perceived as an undesirable premium. Take another example — the rise and popularity of Trader Joe’s where 80% of the products sold are house brands. Consumers care about the product and its quality and value; consumers no longer care (as much) about the brand that is slapped on the package if the contents inside suck.

A brand used to be a mark or symbol burned onto a cow’s butt to signify what ranch it came from. And if people knew the ranch had a good reputation for raising healthy cows, they would buy the cow. The brand helped simplify the purchase decision. These days, advertisers carefully manicure “brand messages” and shout them at target consumers using various one-way channels such as TV, print, radio, and banner ads. But like Scott Cook, Intuit, said, “A brand is no longer wht we tell the consumer its – its what the consumers tell each other it is.” So branding as we know it (advertisers shouting claims at target customers) is less relevant or even unwanted entirely by modern consumers. And brand equity, which used to be a large, fungible item on the balance sheet (technically known as “good will”) may be far less valuable today. Consumers don’t just take the advertisers’ word for it; they will do their own research and buy what is actually valuable and useful.

Companies that actually develop useful and valueable products or services that consistently deliver on their promise — Apple, Drobo, Zappos, JetBlue, etc. — can even cut out their brand advertsing entirely because their brand IS their consistent delivery on the promise of value and usefulness. For example, has Apple EVER claimed they have awesome design and are easy to use? NEVER! But their products consistently deliver on those 2 attributes. So that’s how modern users would describe Apple’s brand to their friends.

A “brand” is earned over time. “Branding” is no longer a useful activity (and furthermore it is damned expensive — media costs — and ineffective — because it is the advertiser making claims that modern consumers don’t believe, assuming they saw the ad in the first place).

From AdAge — people buying private label, generics, or store brands (quality of which are pretty comparable to name brands)

Private Labels winning the battle of the brands
http://adage.com/article?article_id=134791

What do you think?

Tags: advertising, advertising works, analogy, analytics, Apple EVER, Basics, Bean, blogs, brand, brand equity, brand marketing, brand messages, calories, Campaign, case, choice, concept, cow, diet, dieting, environment, equity, equity value, estimates, example, Foods, Global, global media, Gross, gross rating points, Group, GRP, house brands, inch, industry, industry veteran, Joe, Jul, marketing, marketing campaign, Media, media metrics, metrics, Mon, MSFT, option, Patty Wakeling, power, private labels, Product, promise, purchase decision, quality, ranch, Rating, reach, reading, reminder, response, retail environment, Scott Cook, shelf, Song, Source, store, target, target consumers, today, trader joe, Traditional, traditional target, Unilever, value, value consumers, veteran, Web, web advertising, whole foods, Young

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 Uncategorized 3 Comments

Viral videos are cool and all, but most of them don’t drive sales.

Samsung LED Sheep – how do I even buy an LED from Samsung, if I wanted one?

T-Mobile Dance – not sure exactly what it means or how it is related to cell phone service, but it SURE was cool!

Cadbury Eyebrows – cool, and forwardable video. but what does Cadbury make again? So I can go buy some of whatever they make? ;-)

etc. etc. you get the point…

the only videos (below) that actually have anything to do with the product are Filet-O-fish, condom bunnies doing their thing, and Denny’s banana on pancakes.

Source: http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=135717

	Last Week	Brand	Campaign	Agency	Current Week Views*	% Change in Views**
1	1	Samsung	Extreme Sheep LED Art	The Viral Factory	2,866,364	+39%
2	2	T-Mobile	T-Mobile Dance	Saatchi & Saatchi, MediaCom	876,946	-15%
3	4	Cadbury	Eyebrow Dance	Fallon	636,418	+27%
4	New	Geico	It’s the Gecko/ Numa Numa	The Martin Agency, Horizon Media	442,653	New
5	5	McDonald’s	Talking Filet-O-Fish	Arnold	378,488	-2%
6	9	E-Trade	E-Trade Baby	Grey, New York	323,100	+17%
7	New	Ray-Ban	Never Hide	Cutwater	304,970	New
8	8	Durex	Get It On	Fitzgerald & Co., SuperFad	235,290	-18%
9	Back on chart	Denny’s	Nannerpuss	Goodby, Silverstein & Partners	178,359	-3%
10	6	Vodafone	Lewis Hamilton and the RC Office Grand Prix	Outsider	171,123	-49%
Source: Visible Measures

Tags: Agency, amp, anything, Arnold, Art, article article, article id, Baby, banana, brand, brand campaign, Cadbury, Campaign, cell, cell phone service, Change, chart, condom, Current, Cutwater, Dance, Denny, digital article, Durex, E-Trade, Extreme, Eyebrow, Eyebrows, Factory, Fallon, Filet, fish, Fitzgerald, Gecko, Geico, Goodby, Grand, Grey, Hide, Horizon, horizon media, LED, Lewis Hamilton, Martin, McDonald, Media, MediaCom, Nannerpuss, new ray, New York, Numa Numa The, Numa Numa, O-Fish, Office, Outsider, phone, point, Prix, Product, Ray, Ray-Ban, Saatchi, Samsung, service, Sheep, Silverstein, Source, Spot, SuperFad, SURE, T-Mobile, thing, video, Viral, viral factory, Visible, Vodafone, Watch, Week

Monday, July 6th, 2009 Uncategorized No Comments

is your brand name a generic word?

if it is, it’s a LOT harder for users to find you

TAG – men’s personal care line from Proctor & Gamble – hard to pick out from other search results on “tag.” The brands have to use paid search ads to show up.

serch engine optimization is critical, otherwise, looking at the following graphs, there is no way to tell when a brand launched or when they have campaigns in market, because the volume of search on the generic term is so great, the lift in search volume due to paid advertising is not detectable.

Tags: advertising, amp, brand, campaigns, care, engine, engine optimization, Gamble, generic term, graphs, lift, line, lot, market, optimization, personal care, Proctor, search, search ads, search volume, serch, TAG, term, volume, way

Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 Uncategorized No Comments

http://twitter.com/acfou
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Digital Strategy Consulting
Dr. Augustine Fou Bio

go-Digital Blog on Digital Marketing

Opinions, Rants, Raves, and all things Digital Marketing

brand

A Predictable Failure: Kimberly-Clark Offering Kleenex Hand Towels

“Kimberly-Clark’s Kleenex brand is offering an at-home version of a product that people take for granted in public restrooms: disposable hand towels. The new Kleenex Hand Towels are intended to address consumers’ growing concern with hand hygiene.

The product is on sale now with a retail price of about $3 for a box of 60 towels, per the company.

The Kleenex Hand Towels come in box packaging, with pop-up delivery. The product is intended to complement bathroom décor and space limitations — i.e., it can go on a towel bar or countertop.

Kleenex Hand Towels performed well in preliminary testing with consumers, the company says: Approximately two-thirds said they would use Kleenex Hand Towels as a substitute for cloth towels, and more than 90% reacted favorably to how the product and package design looked in their bathrooms.”

They used FOCUS GROUPS! And 2/3 said they would use! But think about it: $3 a box versus cloth towels I already have at home. At home, I don’t use disposable hand towels and at home I am not concerned about “hand hygiene” as I am in a public bathroom.

Even Major Sites are Not Yet Benefiting From the Full Power of Search

A new definition of “digital” – the collection of habits and expectations of modern users

Concept: Starbucks iPhone App – order ahead, pay, ready for pickup

Viral videos are cool and all, but most of them don’t drive sales.

Samsung LED Sheep – how do I even buy an LED from Samsung, if I wanted one?

T-Mobile Dance – not sure exactly what it means or how it is related to cell phone service, but it SURE was cool!

Cadbury Eyebrows – cool, and forwardable video. but what does Cadbury make again? So I can go buy some of whatever they make? ;-)

etc. etc. you get the point…

the only videos (below) that actually have anything to do with the product are Filet-O-fish, condom bunnies doing their thing, and Denny’s banana on pancakes.

Source: http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=135717

is your brand name a generic word?

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brand

“Kimberly-Clark’s Kleenex brand is offering an at-home version of a product that people take for granted in public restrooms: disposable hand towels. The new Kleenex Hand Towels are intended to address consumers’ growing concern with hand hygiene.

The product is on sale now with a retail price of about $3 for a box of 60 towels, per the company.

The Kleenex Hand Towels come in box packaging, with pop-up delivery. The product is intended to complement bathroom décor and space limitations — i.e., it can go on a towel bar or countertop.

Kleenex Hand Towels performed well in preliminary testing with consumers, the company says: Approximately two-thirds said they would use Kleenex Hand Towels as a substitute for cloth towels, and more than 90% reacted favorably to how the product and package design looked in their bathrooms.”

They used FOCUS GROUPS! And 2/3 said they would use! But think about it: $3 a box versus cloth towels I already have at home. At home, I don’t use disposable hand towels and at home I am not concerned about “hand hygiene” as I am in a public bathroom.

Thou shalt not target customers with messages they don’t want.

Thou shalt be truthful.

Thou shalt respect your customers.

Thou shalt make it easy for people to find you.

Thou shalt be useful.

Thou shalt make it easy for people to pass along.

Thou shalt measure and optimize.

Thou shalt listen to customers.

Thou shalt remove any organizational barriers to speedy, collaborative innovation.

Thou shalt not do brand-ing.

My method is the scientific method – which is simply put doing experiments and making observations that either support or refute hypotheses.

A grand unified theory will also need to be able to take into account phenomena such as social networks, etc. What are the organizing principles of such; what is the value? Why now?

Source: http://community.microsoftadvertising.com/blogs/analytics/archive/2009/07/06/getting-back-to-basics-why-web-advertising-needs-traditional-media-metrics.aspx

Getting Back to Basics – Why Web Advertising Needs Traditional Media Metrics

posted Mon, Jul 06 2009

by Young Bean Song MSFT

Trying to build a brand marketing campaign without traditional target reach and Gross Rating Points (GRP) estimates is like trying to diet without the concept of calories. The analogy of dieting and advertising works on many levels.

My response…

A “brand” is earned over time. “Branding” is no longer a useful activity (and furthermore it is damned expensive — media costs — and ineffective — because it is the advertiser making claims that modern consumers don’t believe, assuming they saw the ad in the first place).

From AdAge — people buying private label, generics, or store brands (quality of which are pretty comparable to name brands)

Private Labels winning the battle of the brands http://adage.com/article?article_id=134791

Samsung LED Sheep – how do I even buy an LED from Samsung, if I wanted one?

T-Mobile Dance – not sure exactly what it means or how it is related to cell phone service, but it SURE was cool!

Cadbury Eyebrows – cool, and forwardable video. but what does Cadbury make again? So I can go buy some of whatever they make? ;-)

etc. etc. you get the point…

the only videos (below) that actually have anything to do with the product are Filet-O-fish, condom bunnies doing their thing, and Denny’s banana on pancakes.

Source: http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=135717

About Me

Tags

Recent Posts

Popular Posts

Meta

Pages

Archives

Favorite Sites

Private Labels winning the battle of the brands
http://adage.com/article?article_id=134791