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11 Months Left for the Oprah Effect

11 Months Left for the Oprah Effect

oprah-winfreyIn November 2009, Oprah Winfrey announced that after 25 years she would be leaving the Oprah Winfrey Show behind on September 9, 2011.  At the time, I wrote a blog post wondering who Oprah’s successor would be.  I wrote:

Who can fill Oprah’s shoes?  Who can step up to the plate and build a similar brand position?  Let’s face it.  Oprah Winfrey’s power and influence transcended the afternoon talk show circuit.  She became a global influencer of everything from the beef industry to publishing, entertainment, and many areas in between.

There are just 11 months left until the Oprah Winfrey Show closes its doors, which would lead one to think there are only 11 months left for businesses, entertainers and individuals to benefit from the Oprah Effect — the guaranteed brand awareness and buzz that comes from an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show or even a simple mention by Oprah herself.  Thousands of brands, companies, and people have witnessed the Oprah Effect in action with little-known writers turning into best-selling authors and small entrepreneurs watching their businesses grow beyond their wildest dreams after a single mention by Oprah.

So who will take Oprah Winfrey’s shoes in September 2011?  Will there be another person capable of providing publicity, word-of-mouth marketing, and brand-building comparable to the Oprah Effect?

It’s an interesting concept to consider.  When Oprah speaks on her talk show, there is a large segment of the consumer population that listens, and many of those people are the primary purchase decision-makers for their homes.  Who will that audience turn to in Oprah Winfrey’s absence?  And how can your business and brand get on that influencer’s radar screen?

What do you think?  Is there another influencer that captures the same audience and has a similar effect on that audience’s perceptions?  Has there been another person in history with the same type of reach and influence as Oprah Winfrey has garnered over the past 25 years?

Furthermore, the Oprah Winfrey brand itself is extremely powerful.  It’s interesting to hypothesize about what’s next for the Oprah brand just as much as it is to wonder who the next big influencer will be.  Leave a comment and share your thoughts on the Oprah Effect and successors to the Oprah Winfrey brand.

Image: Flickr

Summary Post October 17, 2010

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  • Research Shows Advertising Creative is More Important than Media Buy
    New research from comScore ARS Group provides a new vision of the marketing budget with creative positioned to take a bigger chunk of the upfront investment in advertising than media placement.  The question is whether or not companies will actually take the research to heart and apply it to their own marketing strategies and budgets.
    Let’s […]
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JetBlue Differentiates Brand with YouTube Videos

In a clever attempt to differentiate its brand from other airline brands, JetBlue turned to YouTube and launched a series of videos that call attention to the common airline policies that anger consumers.  Each video uses a hidden camera to capture consumers’ reactions to airline policies applied to other aspects of daily life.

For example, a New York City taxi driver reclines his seat and explains the legroom policy in his cab to paying passengers or he tells passengers that they’re required to pay a $25 baggage check fee to carry luggage in the trunk of the taxi.  Other videos show an elevator ride destined to stop on every floor because it’s not a “non-stop” trip and a New York City street vendor pouring drinks into airline-sized disposable cups for customers rather than handing over the entire can.

As you can imagine, the reactions of New York City patrons are honest and amusing, and they perfectly support JetBlue’s message: “You wouldn’t take it on the ground. Don’t take it in the air.”

The videos work for one simple reason, JetBlue does offer more legroom, first checked bags are free, and you get the full can of Coke and a free snack no matter where you sit.  In other words, JetBlue offers tangible differentiators and clearly demonstrates why consumers shouldn’t settle for less.

The YouTube videos are just one part of a larger marketing push JetBlue is launching in target cities across the United States, which will include online, mobile, offline, ambient, and in-flight initiatives.  In other words, this is a well-strategized, fully-integrated marketing campaign.

You can view some of the JetBlue video montages below and check out all of the videos on the JetBlue YouTube channel within the Ground Rules playlist (which is great use of a playlist on YouTube, I might add!).

Glass Half Full Montage

Cab Jam Montage

Taken for a Ride Montage

The Local

What do you think of this effort by JetBlue?  I like it, but I’d like to see even more social media efforts supporting the campaign which could carry the entire campaign to the next level of success over time.  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Research Shows Advertising Creative is More Important than Media Buy

presentationNew research from comScore ARS Group provides a new vision of the marketing budget with creative positioned to take a bigger chunk of the upfront investment in advertising than media placement.  The question is whether or not companies will actually take the research to heart and apply it to their own marketing strategies and budgets.

Let’s take a closer look at the comScore ARS Group research findings.

First, here is what comScore ARS Group researched:

comScore ARS Group conducted research to determine, “the importance of sound strategy and strong creative elements in driving effective campaign execution for TV and digital advertising campaigns.”  This wasn’t a quick study of a small population.  According to comScore, the research was “extensive.”

Next, here is what comScore ARS Group learned:

Jeff Cox, executive vice president of ComScore ARS explains, “Based on our years of research in this space, we’ve determined that the quality of creative is four times more important than the characteristics of the media plan in generating sales.  In fact, creative is the single most important factor and accounts for over half the changes in a brand’s sales over time.”

Furthermore, the study found that 70% of campaigns with an “above-average creative strategy” in the study resulted in “above-average execution,” while 65% of campaigns with a “below-average creative strategy” resulted in “below-average execution.”  In other words, ads with a strong creative strategy provide the results companies are looking for far more frequently and consistently than campaigns that lack creative strategy.

The comScore ARS study found that the marketing variable which influence changes in brand sales in the United States in terms of the contribution those variables provide to sales changes are as follows:

  • Ad quality = 52%
  • Media plan = 13%
  • Other (price, promotion, distribution, etc.) = 35%

Finally, here is what brand managers and marketers should start to think about based on the comScore research data:

On the surface, these are some compelling statistics, particularly at a time when marketers and brand managers are spending a lot of time on building relationships and social media connections rather than investing in the creative side of advertising.  If nothing else, these statistics should act as a warning that the creative aspect of marketing and advertising is far from over.  In fact, if this research is accurate, creative investments should still hold a significant portion of the marketing budget.

This is just one more factor that marketing executives need to include in the strategy and budget planning process to ensure marketing fundamentals (including great creative) aren’t forgotten in favor of newer opportunities (such as social media).  The best marketing plan will be well-integrated with a mixture of traditional and new media initiatives, all supported by great creative.

What do you think of the comScore ARS research data?  Will it affect your marketing budget and strategy?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: stock.xchng

CSR : Growth Is Not The Answer

round and round we goIt’s the hoary old chestnut : what exactly does CSR mean to you?

Is it the environment, biodiversity and pollution?

Or maybe human rights and justice, ensuring we don’t abuse our fellow humans for personal gain?

Or is it just a resources based question, centred on ensuring you don’t consume more than can be produced?

This last is the angle most sustainability experts take, pointing out that this is not just a raw materials perspective but one which also embraces the likes of atmospheric health and human well being.

However most businesses think only of raw material use, power consumption and waste production.  Measured in these simplistic terms all that CSR and sustainability will achieve is doing business in a more efficient manner.  This is better than being grossly wasteful and irresponsible, but it is not sustainable.

This is because the fundamental flaw in the current business model has not been addressed : growth.

Businesses need to operate at a profit, there is no argument there.  However, there is no imperative for either business or the economy to be in a state of continual growth.  Many SMEs operate quite happily through having a set of regular clients whom they service and there is no presumption that it’s different for large companies.

Yesterday I tweeted an article entitled Limiting Growth To Save The World.  Please note the word is “limiting”, not “eliminating”.  One of my twitter correspondents responded pointing out that the last time downsizing was proposed they were attacked by the establishment for proposing terrorism.

A very US turn of phrase, but the same counter argument was made across Europe: that our culture is based upon a growth economy and to try and stymie that growth is to somehow undermine the culture.

The absurdity of perpetually growing businesses and economies was neatly summed up by Dax Lovegrove, head of industry and business for WWF, in the recent Financial Times article Response falls short of ecological challenges.

“The dilemma faced by the private sector is that if business growth continues, even with some efficiencies, the net result is higher impacts. And that can’t go on forever,” he said.  “There’s an inevitable ecological crunch looming, where companies are going to have to think quite differently.”

This is where a real sustainable business model needs to come to the fore.  One which isn’t based on growth but on sustainability: a radical rethink for businessman and politicians alike.

Picture Credit: Business cycles – round and round we go by Raquel Baranow under Creative Commons Attribution License.

The Line Between Professionalism and Personality

Some companies are worried about how to present a human face without losing authority. Sarah offered to write a post for us about how to convey some of your corporate personality without being unprofessional. She’s a frequent writer for a logo products site, and has worked in marketing for several years, particularly in the new landscape of internet marketing.

Over to you, Sarah!

balancing actConnecting with customers has always been a challenge for businesses. How do you come across as professional, authoritative and credible without also being dry, boring and generic?

The fact is it’s not enough just to be the best in your field. People need to like you too. When it comes to business, perception is often reality. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to help businesses become not only more memorable but more personally relatable as well. These channels are a great way to grow your business and show a little personality at the same time.

Logo Products

Logo products and promotional items have long been a popular way for brands to help imprint their names on the minds of consumers by imprinting their logo on a gift item. From pencils to sweat shirts, branded items are a great way of integrating your business name into the lives of your customers. But it’s more than just the logistics of keeping your name in front of a buyer, logo products can be a way of showing a little personality. When considering which of 1000 products to choose, it’s also a good time to think about what message you want to send beyond just your name and address.

The products you pick, along with style and color choice can help you toe the line between professionalism and personality. This is an opportunity to use humor and whimsy or even to promote a corporate philosophy. For example, a company with a true passion for healthy living would do well using water bottle or pedometers as logo items. Not only are they useful, but they support your passion for health. When it comes to being fun, a business must always keep professionalism in mind and make sure that choices are in good taste. But who says a stress ball has to be round and monochromatic? Step it up by using something a little more memorable, or a cartoonish character that brings a smile to your face every time you see it. Being professional doesn’t have to mean being stuffy, and while decorum is of the utmost importance in a number of business situations, when it comes to promo items, there’s more than a little leeway for fun.

Online

The internet has opened up a world of opportunities for business not just to make money, but to make friends. Social media is one of the best channels for businesses to reach out and make direct contact with customers but it is a tricky balancing act. More and more you see companies asking customers to “connect with us” on Facebook and Twitter. But social media needs to be treated as a chance for real interaction and not simply another method of advertising. Real conversations are happening, conversations that your business can and should be a part of. Facebook pages should offer real value for joining a group or fan page, whether it’s exclusive coupons, entertainment, or engagement. Wall posts and feedback should always be acknowledged. The same is true of Twitter, updates should say more than simply “Buy our stuff!”. You can answer questions in a real honest way, start discussions about issues that are pertinent to your business and monitor mentions of your brand name. But the name of the game is authenticity. Social platforms give us the opportunity to connect in a one on one way that is truly unique to our times. It doesn’t hurt to have someone with quick wit and social skills monitoring these accounts. While it’s professional to avoid the use of profanity and over-sharing of inappropriate details, it’s personality to try to add real value to the streams of your followers.

Along with social media a business’s website has infinite potential to be more personable. If all of the content on your site has a sales-pitch tone, there’s room for so much more. By adding articles, tutorials, blogs and interactive programs you can make connections that go beyond commercialism. Becoming a resource isn’t just good online business for attracting links and recognition it creates an atmosphere of authority and a generosity of knowledge. This alone can break down many of the walls between the corporation and the customer.

In the Community

Nothing is better for reaching the masses than a genuine effort to give back. Community involvement is one of the best ways for any business to come down the corporate ladder and mingle. If you simply look around the opportunities are everywhere. Whether is buying program space for a local high school play or asking employees to take part in a walk for charity, these efforts speak volumes about a business. Yes these acts will promote good morale and give the guys-in-ties a warm fuzzy feeling. But more importantly they tell the community, the people closest to you, that you care. Not only is it a good move professionally for getting the word out about your company, through the use of banners and logos at public events but it adds some humanity to your name.

Most businesses are so conscious of their professional image; they don’t realize that it has in fact consumed them. While corporate conduct can inspire respect and trust it can also create a distance between the business and the consumer. But there are numerous ways for any business to breach that divide. Using all of the tools at your disposal, from logo products to the internet to getting knee-deep in community events a business can come down off the professional pedestal and show a little personality. And when that personality comes across as sincere, caring and engaging it inspires not only trust and respect, but admiration and often a new level of brand loyalty.

Thanks, Sarah!