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Procter & Gamble Seeks Creative Input from Consumers

In a growing trend, Procter & Gamble is turning to consumers to help create a tagline for its new Crest Whitening Expressions toothpaste flavor through a contest on YouTube and supported by a print and television campaign filmed in American Idol-style with Emeril Lagassi as one of the judges.  The campaign was created in part by Saatchi & Saatchi New York (TV) and Digitas New York (online).

In an article in Brandweek, Blake Cahill, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Visible Technologies Seattle was quoted as saying that the campaign is an example of how brands are relying more and more on consumers to provide creative content as ideas from consumers prove to be, “many times more creative than what their own agencies deliver.” [Read more…] about Procter & Gamble Seeks Creative Input from Consumers

7 Steps of Advertising Success Drive Word-of-Mouth Marketing

I’ve been talking over the past week about emotional involvement in brands and how that type of connection to a brand can lead to deep customer loyalty.  What comes from customer loyalty aside from repeat purchases?  Typically, loyal customers are also very vocal about the brands they love and generate a great deal of free word-of-mouth advertising for those brands. 

Earlier this week I wrote about the 3 S’s of Customer Loyalty and how to create an emotional involvement to your brand by focusing on those 3 S’s.  Today, I’d like to share my 7 Steps of Advertising Success to show you how your advertising efforts can lead prospective and existing customers down the path to loyalty and word-of-mouth marketing.  In other words, with each tactic executed as part of your overall branding and marketing plans, you’re moving people through the 7 Steps of Advertising Success as follows: [Read more…] about 7 Steps of Advertising Success Drive Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Brand Longevity – The Message Consumers Need to Hear

aig_empty_parking_lotConsumers have never been faced with so many failing companies that were once perceived as infallible industry leaders as they have in the last several years (at least not in our lifetimes).  As a result, consumers have become less willing to believe marketing messages and have begun to rely more on word-of-mouth marketing to make buying decisions (particularly fueled by the social Web) than ever before. 

We’re living in a time when consumers are looking for a sense of security.  One of the most important factors of customer loyalty is creating a sense of security and sustainability — meaning the brand is perceived to be one that will be around for a long time, or at least a predetermined amount of time with a specific end. ( I’ve written about customer loyalty on Corporate Eye before, and you can read that post here for more information.)

It seems to me that the economic struggles of the world, the folding of major brands, and the prevailing sense of insecurity, distrust and fear is actually a huge opportunity for brands.  In other words, now is the time to flood your market with messages of longevity, stability, trust, and honesty.  These are the messages consumers are looking for, and if you can communicate them in a believable manner, you’re on your way to significant long-term success.

Brands that position themselves in a power position now, while times are still tough for consumers, will reap the benefits when our economies turn around and get back on track.  Think of it this way — what can you do now that will get your customers to say, “I could really count on them when times were tough,” later?

It’s not often that the world around us gives us the perfect brand message.  Take advantage of it, and deliver the messages people want to hear.

Your thoughts?

Image: Flickr

Pottermore and Harry Potter Brand Exceed Expectations

pottermore ebooksOver half a million people purchased Harry Potter ebooks during the first month that they were available through the Pottermore ebook store and digital universe for a total of nearly $5 million.

The site attracted 22 million visits from 7 million unique visitors during its first two weeks, and those visitors liked what they found on Pottermore. The site tracked 1 billion page impressions with the average visitor viewing 47 pages and spending 25 minutes on the site. During those first two weeks, 5 million people registered on the site and half had already been sorted into the famous Hogwarts houses.

To date, Pottermore’s immersive brand experience only includes content for the first book in the series, but Pottermore CEO Charlie Redmayne reports that book two is coming soon. In the meantime, new interactive elements, activities, and community tools will debut in the coming weeks. Redmayne says that the success of Pottermore and the Harry Potter ebook sales are exceeding expectations, which is really not surprising given the emotional attachment that consumers feel for Harry Potter — one of the most powerful relationship brands in history. Redmayne shares, “[Pottermore] has been amazingly successful and shows the power of the Harry Potter brand.”

As such, ebook sales haven’t cannibalized print book sales. Instead, print sales increased after Pottermore launched. And while piracy initially increased, it quickly decreased again because loyal Harry Potter community members wouldn’t accept illegal versions of Harry Potter ebooks. He explains, “We have demonstrated that if you make these books available in a way that people want them, and on a platform that is accessible to them, and at a price they are happy with, then generally people will choose to buy them.”

In typical Harry Potter marketing style, tease and perpetual marketing will keep consumers wanting more from the brand. That pull marketing coupled with the engaging Pottermore brand experience will ensure that the Harry Potter brands remains top-of-mind among consumers for years to come. Word-of-mouth marketing will continue to play an important role in the success of the Harry Potter brand, and the community aspects of Pottermore (which are sure to evolve in the future) will keep the conversations going.

Harry Potter might be the main character of a children’s fantasy book series, but it’s also a brand phenomenon that brands in all industries can learn from. What do you think?

Image: Pottermore

Starbucks Tests the Brand Extension Waters with Soft Drinks

starbucks handcrafted sodasThe success of Starbucks over the years has been driven by consumers’ emotional involvement in the brand. In 2011, Starbucks reached the epitome of logo recognition success when it dropped the “Starbucks” name from its logo entirely. However, Starbucks is still known as a one trick pony.

The company’s extreme brand focus served it very well for a long time, but in recent years, the company has struggled. Prices went up, stores changed, menus and products came and went, and loyal Starbucks customers continued to seek their caffeine fixes regardless of those ancillary offerings. The truth of the matter was simple. Loyal customers were coming for coffee. Starbucks needed to find a way to attract new customers and possibly convince existing customers to break out of their coffee habits and try something different.

For the non-coffee drinker or the Dunkin’ Donuts coffee loyalist, a trip to Starbucks isn’t going to happen. If a friend wants to stop at Starbucks, that non-coffee drinker is likely to leave empty-handed while their friend enjoys their Starbucks flavor of choice. That’s a huge missed opportunity for Starbucks.

Now, it appears that Starbucks is making an effort to turn those anti-Starbucks customers into willing-Starbucks customers by offering brand extensions like the Refreshers energy drinks launched last year (new flavors have been introduced for the 2013 summer season) and more recently, testing handcrafted sodas in a few markets.

As USA Today reports, the carbonated beverages industry is a $77 billion category, and although the category as a whole has been declining in recent years, it’s still the second biggest category in the United States. It makes sense that Starbucks would try to carve out a niche in that market by offering its own premium (i.e., “handcrafted”) sodas in its brick-and-mortar stores. If they taste good, some of those people who step into a Starbucks location with a friend who needs his coffee might just shift from saying, “I don’t like anything at Starbucks,” to “I don’t like Starbucks coffee but I definitely want one of their Spiced Root Beers.”

Sounds like a win for Starbucks if the product is good enough to motivate people to travel to a Starbucks location to get it and pay the higher price ($2.45 or $3.45 in Atlanta according to USA Today) attached to it.

What do you think? Leave a comment and share your thoughts below.

Image: Starbucks

3 Steps to Generate Emotional Involvement in Your Brand

As a follow up to my post earlier this week about how emotional involvement in a brand drives brand loyalty, today I will provide three steps to generate emotional involvement in your brand.  I call these three steps the 3 S’s of Customer Loyalty.  It’s a concept I first introduced in my book that was just released in the U.K. (coming to the U.S. in August), Harry Potter: The Story of a Global Business Phenomenon.  By ensuring your brand offers customers the 3 S’s of customer loyalty, customers will become emotionally involved in your brand.  Let’s take a closer look. [Read more…] about 3 Steps to Generate Emotional Involvement in Your Brand